27 Jun 2019 21:51

Russian bank robbers held in Belarus

MINSK. June 27 (Interfax) - Two Russian citizens have been arrested in Minsk on suspicion of robbing banks in the Voronezh region, Russia, the Belarusian Interior Ministry said on Thursday.

"The suspects were held in Minsk during a joint raid by officers from the Main Department for Combatting Organized Crime and Corruption and the Almaz special forces unit. The detained individuals are suspected of robbing bank branches and bank tellers as an organized-crime group," the ministry said.

The pair was on the inter-state wanted list on suspicion of committing the crimes, the ministry said.

The Department's deputy head Alexei Borisenok said: "Based on the gathered body of evidence, law enforcement officers have not ruled out the men's intention to commit similar attacks on banks in Belarus. It was also established that they were examining the possibility of making fake Ukrainian passports for subsequent transit of the country into the European Union."

"The men are now in police custody at the Main Directorate of the Interior of the Minsk City Executive Committee. Anti-organized crime officers reported the arrest to Russian counterparts, the process of extraditing the suspects to the initiators of the manhunt has begun," Borisenok said.