In Volgograd Region, Fake FSB Officers Forge Passports

Everyone in the ring had a special function to execute

The criminal ring was operating from 2000 to 2003: murders, stealing cars, robbery, forged documents. Sometimes, criminals put officer's uniform on. Everybody in the ring had their own functions to execute. Two men were professional thieves, another man was a very good electrician - he could disconnect practically all kinds of signaling systems. Someone else was an expert in construction - his experience helped the thieves make their way into buildings and run away from them. Another man was a bodyguard with great shooting skills and in perfect physical shape. The ringleader, Lukonsky, was the brain and the developer of all criminal activities. In addition, Lukonsky was very good at fabricating signatures and stamps of any organizations.

Lukonsky's ring counted eight men - he decided to work in the most lucrative activity field. Russian people are currently having their old Soviet passports changed to new Russian ones. Lukonsky decided that selling new passports could be a very good business. Everything was very simple: at first, criminals stole a lot of blank passports from passport and visa departments of Volgograd. They disconnected the signaling system and made their way to the office through the dismantled floor. As a result of the theft, criminals obtained about 200 blank passports.

Lukonsky was filling the blanks out, and then selling them to the people, who needed them urgently – the people, who did not hold the Russian citizenship or a residence permission. "Such a passport costs about $600 or even $1,500 on the black market," Viktor Tkachev, a senior police officer of the regional police department said. - At times, customers do not even realize that they are buying a forged passport."

The ringleader did not refuse to deal with traditional criminal businesses either: stealing cars with a view to resell them. In addition to passport services, criminals visited other offices, where they could obtain blank documents necessary for registration of cars. The criminals needed those papers to legalize the stolen cars - they had new numbers and new documents.

"At first they were working with Russian Zhiguly cars, the sixth, the ninth and the tenth models, but then they paid first priority to foreign vehicles. As one of them said, the trouble was the same with foreign cars, although the profit was higher," Viktor Tkachev said.

Lukonsky and his team had forged IDs of FSB officers. The document said, its owner was a FSB officer, although the photograph depicted a criminal wearing the uniform.  Those IDs helped them avoid trouble with police officers - no one of them suspected anything. A lot of photo shops have military uniforms that they offer clients as a costume, so it was not hard for the criminals to take such photographs.

The stability and unity in the ring did not last long. As a result of a quarrel and misunderstanding, one of the criminals went to the police and confessed one of the crimes. Investigators managed to detect his assistant - Lukonsky's companion. Police officers started arresting one criminal after another. It became known that they had conducted more serious crimes: attacks on drivers, two murders and an attempt on the life of the chairman of the regional consumer's association. "One of the members of the criminal group confessed an assassination on Mr. Kobzin's life. The assassin said, he was supposed to frighten the victim as much as possible, to wound him, but not to kill him."

The Volgograd police have already arrested seven men, including the ringleader. One more criminal is wanted. The leader completely rejects his guilt in the crimes.

Irina Malina

The ringleader's name in the text has been changed. The above-mentioned details about the criminal activity of the group are based on the material of the investigation that had been submitted to the court.