| Gelayev's friends are suspected of raiding the drug police in Nalchik In Kabardino-Balkaria yesterday, a funeral was held for four Drug Control officers who died as a result of a militant attack on the FSKN headquarters in Nalchik - senior lieutenant Anzor Lakushev, lieutenant Yuri Pshibiev, warrant officer Murat Tabukhov and driver Akhmed Gergov. The funeral was attended by representatives of all local intelligence services and the leadership of the republic. However, despite all efforts, the special services failed to get on the trail of the bandits yesterday. But indirect confirmation was given to the version that most likely it was not criminals, but Chechen militants who were behind the attack.
The attack on the Republican Federal Drug Control Service took place on Tuesday night. Having shot the duty squad (an operative, a special forces officer, a controller and a driver) in the basement of the building, the bandits stole all the weapons in the building - more than 250 machine guns and pistols - and then set the building on fire. Firefighters were called by residents of nearby houses. Only after the fire was extinguished did it become clear what had happened. A special commission of the Federal Drug Control Service of the Russian Federation and representatives of the Prosecutor General's Office arrived in the republic to investigate. Yesterday, after a meeting held by Deputy Prosecutor General of the Russian Federation Nikolai Shepel with the heads of all law enforcement agencies of the KBR, the case was accepted for proceedings by the Prosecutor General's Office.
At first, the official investigation put forward two versions - revenge of drug traffickers and another attack by separatists. But having found out some details of the incident, the operatives secretly became convinced that only militants could be involved in the attack on the FSKN building. After some time, specific names appeared. A message from the “Islamic militant jamaat Yarmouk”, which took responsibility for the raid, was posted on the website of Chechen militants.
“Yarmouk” became known to the republican intelligence services after a clash in August 2003 in the city of Baksan with a small detachment of militants. As it turned out later, the militants covered the retreat of Shamil Basayev, who later announced that he was in Kabardino-Balkaria “for treatment.” In August of this year, in the Chegem district of the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic, not far from the dacha of the deputy minister of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the republic, bandits attacked policemen. During the special operation, two criminals were killed and four were captured. From their words, it was established that those killed and detained were part of the Yarmouk detachment formed in 2002. Its leader, a 30-year-old resident of the village of Kendelen, Muslim Atayev, nicknamed Seifulla, fought in Chechnya at one time and was even the commander of one of the units in Gelayev’s detachment. At the same time, Ataev and five of his close accomplices were put on the wanted list.
Since Tuesday morning, the republican borders have been closed, and special forces groups yesterday continued to comb all populated areas where bandits could hide. However, according to a source close to the investigation, the special services have virtually no hope that the criminals are still on the territory of the republic. Most likely, at night, immediately after the attack, the militants managed to leave the republic and take out their weapons.
In addition to searching on the side, they also look for criminals among “their own”. Nikolai Shepel, who headed the investigation, expressed the opinion that among the attackers were employees of the Federal Drug Control Service of Kabardino-Balkaria - active or dismissed. The attackers were able to seize the Drug Control building almost silently; residents of the surrounding houses did not notice anything.
Yesterday, as local operatives admitted, there were no significant progress in the investigation of the case. Employees of the prosecutor's office only refuted a number of previously appeared reports - that the raid was allegedly attended by eight to ten people in camouflage and masks, who were recorded by surveillance cameras on the building of the State Drug Control Service. According to investigators, in fact, in the building of the Federal Drug Control Service there was only one external camera, which did not record, but only performed surveillance functions. The security forces only assumed that at least ten people could have participated in the attack, based on the number and weight of the stolen weapons. In addition, there is no confirmation that the bandits allegedly left in a Gazelle, as was previously thought. Tatiana GRITSENKO |
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