25 May 2009, 22:10
15 detained residents of Ingushetia are not accused of connections with militants
15 Ingushetia residents detained on May 23 are only accused of illegal possession of arms and ammunition. Representatives of the republic's MoI do not confirm their connections with illegal armed formations. According to some reports, they all have been released.
For reference, 15 persons were detained approximately at 6.20 a.m. Moscow time between the villages of Surkhakhi and Yandare in the course of a raid conducted by officers from the republic's MoI and FSS. All persons detained are the republic's residents. 5 machine-guns, about 10 magazine cases with cartridges and 6 "Makarov", "TT" and foreign make pistols were found on them.
The detainees claimed that they were guarding their commercial property and carried the arms for the purpose.
"The investigation will establish if they are guilty of anything else", reports a representative of the republic's MoI to the "Novosti Ingushetii" agency.
The Ingushetia.Org portal forum contains reports that the group of detainees was guarding car filling stations belonging to their families. After several attempts to clarify the situation, the law enforcement officers refused to answer any questions. Today, all 15 persons have been released due to lack of corpus delicti, reports the site.
Notably, the group of detainees included young people aged from 15 to 33.
