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Alleged Mastermind of Syzran Mass Murder Detained

A fourth suspect in the murder of the policeman and his family in Russia's southern town of Syzran has been detained, the Interfax news agency reported Wednesday.

The suspect was detained on Tuesday during an attempt to cross the Tajik border with Azerbaijan, said Sergei Solodovnikov, head of Interior Ministry in the Samara Region. The man was then transferred to Moscow and arrested upon arrival at Moscow's Domodedovo Airport.

“We believe that he is the one who brought them [the killers] to the house,” Solodovnikov was quoted by news service Interfax.

The former chief of Syzran police Andrei Gosht and five members of his family were killed while sleeping on April 24. Gosht's niece, aged seven, survived and is currently in hospital with serious injuries.

On May 2, three Azeri nationals confessed to the murders after being detained. One of the suspects, Roman Fataliyev, said that he and his accomplices initially planned to rob the policeman's house, but that panic had caused them to attack.

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