In Tashkent, authorities have dismantled a criminal group that was extorting money from foreigners.

Employees of the Ministry of Internal Affairs' Department of Operational Search Activities halted the activities of a criminal group comprised of foreign nationals who were illegally extorting money from Azerbaijani citizens engaged in entrepreneurial activities.

An Azerbaijani citizen, born in 1983, along with his brother, was selling citrus fruits at a market in the Bektemir district.

On January 10 of this year, he filed a report with the Ministry of Internal Affairs, stating that in November 2024, he had a conflict with a Russian citizen with whom he was temporarily living.

Subsequently, a representative of the criminal group, taking advantage of this conflict, began to pressure the complainant, accusing him of insults. On December 15, 2024, he summoned his accomplice, a repeatedly convicted Azerbaijani citizen born in 1974.

The perpetrators demanded $5,000 from the victim, of which they received $1,500 on the same day, while they continued to demand the remaining $3,500.

On January 10, 2025, in the Mirabad district, department employees conducted an operational event and apprehended the suspects while they were receiving the $3,500.

A criminal case has been initiated under Article 165, Part 2, Clause "b" (Extortion committed by a group of individuals in collusion) of the Criminal Code. Three suspects have been detained in accordance with Article 227 of the Criminal Procedure Code, and the investigation is ongoing.