The defendant in the case of theft from SVO soldiers in Sheremetyevo admitted participation in the Lobnenskaya organized crime group

The defendant in the case of theft from SVO fighters at Sheremetyevo, Dmitry Boglaev, said in his confession that he was a member of an organized crime group, which, among other things, collected fees from beggars at the airport in 2022-2024, lawyer Pavel Chigileychik told RIA Novosti.

There are several episodes in the theft case. Some of them concern so-called beggars, they misled victims by telling fictitious stories about difficult financial situations, being late for a flight and lack of money for air tickets. The damage from their actions in 2024 is estimated at more than 760 thousand rubles, 17 people were recognized as victims, including eight participants of the SVO.

“We admit that we were indeed participants in the Lobnensky organized criminal community (OCC), which included collecting rent from beggars and using force to resolve issues with taxi drivers who were not members of the OCC and refused to pay rent for the opportunity to stay and work at Sheremetyevo,” the agency’s interlocutor said.

According to the defense lawyer, Boglaev knew what the beggars were doing, but had nothing to do with deceiving passengers. Chigileichik indicated that his client’s testimony was confirmed by witnesses. According to them, Boglaev collected a fixed fee from beggars, not tied to their criminal profits, and did not supervise them, and his role in the OPS was to collect money, including the use of force against those who refused to pay. At the same time, Chigileichik insists that Boglaev’s knowledge does not mean his involvement in the crime.

The lawyer also said that in order to confirm Boglaev’s words, he submitted a request to interrogate as a witness one of the leaders of the Lobnenskaya organized crime group, Alexey Kabochkin, whom the investigation considers the organizer of the criminal scheme at the airport.

According to the investigation, the organized crime group deliberately targeted SVO members arriving at Sheremetyevo as victims. Most of the episodes concern inflated taxi prices: the initially adequate cost increased manyfold by the end of the trip. For refusing to pay, the victims were threatened with physical violence, the materials indicate.