Two brothers in western Siberia who saved up for 14 years to hire a hit man have been arrested, LifeNews reported Monday.
Following a quarrel with their acquaintance 14 years ago, the brothers, now 32 and 33, decided to have the man killed, the news agency cited local police as saying.
Unable to afford a hit man at the time, the brothers from the Khanty-Mansiysk autonomous district spent the next decade and a half biding their time, squirreling away money until they could afford the 150,000-ruble ($2,790) fee, the report said.
On receiving what appeared to be a photo of the victim's dead body, the brothers handed over the first 50,000-ruble installment to the hit man — withholding the remaining 100,000 rubles until they saw the corpse for themselves at the funeral — at which point they were arrested, police said.
Little did they know that investigators, having got wind of the planned hit, had cooperated with the target to fake the killing, LifeNews reported. They made the man up to resemble a dead body, before sending over the photograph as "proof" from the alleged hit man, who was in fact an undercover law enforcement officer.
A criminal case has been opened against the brothers, the report said.
Hiring hit men is not an uncommon practice in Russia. In May, the general director of a tube-rolling company in Moscow narrowly escaped an attempt on his life by a suspected hit man.
A Message from The Moscow Times:
Dear readers,
We are facing unprecedented challenges. Russia's Prosecutor General's Office has designated The Moscow Times as an "undesirable" organization, criminalizing our work and putting our staff at risk of prosecution. This follows our earlier unjust labeling as a "foreign agent."
These actions are direct attempts to silence independent journalism in Russia. The authorities claim our work "discredits the decisions of the Russian leadership." We see things differently: we strive to provide accurate, unbiased reporting on Russia.
We, the journalists of The Moscow Times, refuse to be silenced. But to continue our work, we need your help.
Your support, no matter how small, makes a world of difference. If you can, please support us monthly starting from just $2. It's quick to set up, and every contribution makes a significant impact.
By supporting The Moscow Times, you're defending open, independent journalism in the face of repression. Thank you for standing with us.
Remind me later.