4-hour stakeout and an escaped victim: Details of a kidnapping in Tashkent

A criminal group involved in a plot to kidnap citizens and inflict bodily harm on them by order has been exposed in Tashkent. According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, as a result of a special operation conducted by the Operational Search Department, two dangerous recidivists were apprehended with incriminating evidence.

The roots of this heinous crime were uncovered after one of the victims managed to escape from a car and immediately reported the incident to law enforcement agencies.

«Axe, taser, and an order»: How was the crime trail found?

According to official information released by the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the chain of events unfolded as follows:

• The victim's escape: A citizen who was being forcibly put into a car by unknown individuals put up strong resistance, managed to escape from the moving vehicle, and went straight to the Ministry of Internal Affairs to report it;

• Suspects and a discovery in the trunk: The apprehended individuals turned out to be 23 and 28-year-old Tashkent natives, previously convicted under Article 169 (theft) of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Uzbekistan. When the vehicle they were driving was inspected, an axe used for sinister purposes was found in the trunk and processed as material evidence;

• Orders given via Telegram: When the suspects' phones were checked, secret correspondence with the client was discovered. It contained instructions to bring the first citizen to the client by any means necessary.

They waited 4 hours for the second victim: «Hit him in the neck with a taser!»

It was determined that the group did not intend to stop at just one person. The correspondence contained brutal instructions for kidnapping the next citizen as well:

• Plan to knock out with a taser: In the client's messages, it was ordered that if the second citizen resisted, he should be struck in the neck with a taser to knock him unconscious (put him to sleep) and brought to the destination regardless;

• Excuses during interrogation: In a video released by the Ministry of Internal Affairs, one of the suspects tried to justify the comments about the taser as «just a joke.» However, video surveillance and investigative evidence showed that they had been waiting for exactly four hours in front of the second target's workplace;

• Saved by a business trip: Because the citizen had left for a business trip that day, the criminals were forced to postpone the plan to the next day and were apprehended shortly thereafter.

Official investigation and an important warning to citizens

Strict procedural measures are currently being taken regarding this case:

• Case under a serious article: A criminal case has been initiated against the suspects under Article 137, Part 2, clauses "b" and "v" of the Criminal Code (kidnapping committed by a group of persons by prior conspiracy, for mercenary or other base motives);

• MIA appeal: The Ministry of Internal Affairs urged all citizens not to hesitate to contact law enforcement agencies if they encounter cases of extortion, violence, threats to extort money, or forced performance of various services. The anonymity of citizens who report such incidents is strictly guaranteed.