Four police patrol officers in the Moscow region town of Zheleznodorozhny and a friend are accused of robbing and beating to death a Tajik-born Catholic believer who was transporting money for the church, the Investigative Committee said Wednesday.
The victim, identified by Lifenews.ru as Akhmed Merizov, 33, was stopped by the police officers for a document check late Oct. 2.
After the policemen realized that the man was transporting 45,000 rubles ($1,400), they released him but tipped off the friend, who attacked Merizov, killing him and taking the money, which was divided between the five suspects, the committee said.
The suspected killer, Alexei Zaitsev, and one of the policemen have been detained, while the rest have been placed on a national wanted list, Lifenews.ru said.
The Catholic church’s main offices in Russia had no immediate comment about the incident.
(MT)
