In Kirov Oblast, a drunk-driving enthusiast was punished.

      On the evening of December 4, a 44-year-old resident of Tuzhinsky District, while intoxicated, got behind the wheel of a Lada Granta and drove on the roads in the settlement of Tuzha. At some point he was detained by police officers. When the offender’s identity was checked, it emerged that the man had previously been held administratively liable for drunk driving. On that occasion he was punished with a fine of 30,000 rubles and deprived of the right to drive for one and a half years.

      This time the local resident was found guilty under Part 1 of Article 264.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (operating a vehicle while intoxicated by a person previously subjected to administrative punishment or having a criminal record). The court imposed a sentence of a fine of 200,000 rubles and deprived him of the right to engage in activities involving the operation of motor vehicles for one year.

      The defendant, for his part, claimed that on the eve of the offense he had allegedly sold the car and was not its owner. The court critically assessed these arguments, and at the prosecutor’s request applied the provisions of Article 104.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (confiscation of property), transferring the offender’s car into state ownership pursuant to the guilty verdict.