A Crimean fisherman organized illegal poaching, and when it got hot he went on the run

CrimeaPRESS reports:

A resident of the Leninsky district, who was wanted, will stand trial for organizing poaching. What the Crimean fisherman did was told by the Investigative Committee and the Prosecutor’s Office.

The Main Investigation Department of the Investigative Committee of Russia for the Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol completed the investigation of a criminal case against a resident of the village of Voykovo, accused of organizing the illegal extraction and storage of especially valuable aquatic biological resources belonging to species listed in the Red Book of the Russian Federation and protected by international treaties of the Russian Federation, committed by a group of persons by prior conspiracy (part 3 of article 33, part 3 of article 258.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation)— reported in Sledkom.

An investigator for particularly important cases established that the foreman of a fishing brigade at the beginning of 2021 in the village of Kurortnoye, Leninsky district, organized a group of five local residents for the illegal catch and clandestine sale of sturgeon fish. In the early morning of February 18, 2021, the accomplices went to sea on a small boat, pulled out 67 sturgeon, three sturgeon and two beluga from the placed nets in order to place the trophies in a cache at the pier. However, during unloading, the criminal activities of the group were stopped by employees of the Border Department of the FSB of Russia for the Republic of Crimea.

After some time, the organizer disappeared and was put on the wanted list. The man was detained by Russian FSB officers in November 2023 in a neighboring region.

Currently, the criminal investigation against him has been completed. The Crimean prosecutor’s office has already approved the indictment in the criminal case. The 40-year-old fisherman “with the makings of an organizer” faces up to 9 years in prison. The remaining members of the group were previously convicted on charges of illegal extraction and storage of especially valuable aquatic biological resources.

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