DUSHANBE, February 27, 2009, Asia-Plus — Commander of the police special unit, OMON, within the Ministry of Interior, Yevgeny Sergeyev, has been sacked for inadequacy.
Speaking in an interview with Asia-Plus, Deputy Interior Minister, Sharif Nazarov, said that Sergeyev was sacked on February 19 following arrest of two officers from the police special unit.
“His subordinates are suspected of having been involved in commitment of a grave crime with use of firearms,” said the deputy minister, “As their commander, he was to foresee and prevent the crime committed by them.”
Colonel Sherali Mahmadshoyev was appointed as acting commander of OMON.
As it had been reported earlier, three members of the organized criminal group, including two officers from the police special unit – Ravshan Homidov and Tohir Rahimov, were detained in Dushanbe on February 19. The ringleader Tavakkalkhouja Nizomov, who is an officer with the main border directorate within the State Committee for national Security (GKNB), managed to escape.
Members of this group are suspected of having committed a number of grave crimes in the territory of the country, including an attack on casino in the Oq Qurghon jamoat in the Roudaki district, some 20 kilometers south of Dushanbe. According to the MoI source, a group of armed persons in masks broke into the Pamir Casino in Oq Qurghon on the night of February 15. The gunmen beat guards and visitors during the attack and seized some 40,000 US dollars.
