In Irkutsk, a court sentenced six members of an organized group that attacked a jewelry store in a shopping center in 2011. To distract security, the criminals set a fire in another pavilion, then stole gold jewelry worth nearly two million rubles from a safe. Now all the convicted received suspended sentences, and the organizer was given 6.5 years suspended.

Investigators from the Irkutsk police gathered sufficient evidence and sent to court an indictment against six members of an organized criminal group that carried out an attack on a jewelry salon in September 2011. The day before, each of the defendants was sentenced.
The organizer of the brazen crime — a 22-year-old resident of Irkutsk, previously repeatedly convicted of thefts and car thefts — shared his criminal plan with an acquaintance. He agreed, and they began looking for accomplices for the upcoming attack. After recruiting four more acquaintances who needed money, they began carrying out the plan.
The main target of the criminal group was a safe standing in one of the pavilions of a large shopping center in Irkutsk. Since the premises were under round-the-clock surveillance by security guards, the accomplices decided to distract their attention. To do this, two of the offenders were to use gasoline to set fire to a pyrotechnics boutique located at the other end of the complex. When the fire started, the remaining participants in the attack, taking advantage of the confusion, entered the jewelry salon and dismantled the safe.
The loot of the raiders consisted of numerous gold jewelry items worth almost two million rubles.
During investigative and operational measures within the framework of criminal cases initiated under Articles 167 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (Causing damage) and 158 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (Theft), the investigation established, in particular, that the young men paid their accomplices 14,000 rubles each, keeping the rest for themselves. Within just a few days, criminal investigation officers got on the trail of one of the suspects, and soon all participants in the attack were identified and detained.
After reviewing all the materials and evidence incriminating the suspects, the court found them guilty of the offenses charged and sentenced the organizer to 6.5 years of suspended imprisonment. The other defendants were also given suspended sentences, but for shorter terms. At present, all of the convicted persons have been placed on record with the internal affairs authorities. For any violation of the conditions and obligations imposed by the court, their suspended sentences may be replaced with real imprisonment.
Based on materials from the press service of the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia for the Irkutsk Region