Poachers in Kirov Oblast will be sent to a penal colony for shooting 10 moose and stealing beehives.

      The Kotel’nich District Court of the Kirov Region has delivered a verdict in a criminal case against three members of a criminal group accused of illegal hunting, illegal circulation of firearms, and thefts. The state prosecution in the case was carried out by the Kotel’nich Interdistrict Prosecutor’s Office.

      The court found that between July and September 2024 the defendants, acting in concert, illegally shot 10 moose in the territories of the Kotel’nich and Svechinsky districts. They intended to sell the meat obtained. To transport the weapons and conceal evidence of the crime, one of the accomplices equipped a hidden compartment in the bed of a UAZ truck. The damage caused to the environment amounted to 800,000 rubles.

      In addition, during the same period the defendants stole eight beehives with bees and honey, as well as a hunting tower. The total value of the stolen property exceeded 450,000 rubles.

      When one of the defendants was detained, law enforcement officers seized a homemade firearm that was being unlawfully circulated.

      The court found the defendants guilty. Two of them were sentenced to imprisonment for terms of 3.5 years and 6 years and 2 months, to be served in a colony-settlement. The third member of the criminal group was fined 140,000 rubles. The convicted persons were also prohibited from engaging in hunting-related activities for periods ranging from 1.5 to 2.5 years.

      The court granted the claim of the regional Ministry of Environmental Protection for compensation for the damage caused. The seizure of the convicted persons’ property remains in effect. The seized weapons and ammunition were transferred to the Rosgvardiya administration for a decision on their further disposition.