Police in the southern Khatlon province have arrested a 38-year-old resident of Vakhsh district, Gholibshoh Burkhonov, for posing as a law enforcement officer and deceiving citizens out of money and property. The Khatlon police department said the arrest followed complaints from residents of Vakhsh and Jayhun districts.
According to investigators, since March this year, Burkhonov:
· Took 10,000 somonis from a man in exchange for a promise to exempt him from military service;
· Accepted another 10,000 somonis to allegedly cancel a fine;
· Demanded 1,100 somonis to arrange a disability pension for a child;
· Took a Zhiguli car under the pretense of buying it and never paid.
Authorities confirmed that Burkhonov was unemployed and spent the stolen money on personal needs. Criminal proceedings have been instituted against him under Article 247, Part 2 of the Criminal Code of Tajikistan — fraud. The investigation is ongoing.
The police urge anyone who may have been defrauded by Burkhonov to contact their local law enforcement office.
Another group of impostors uncovered in Dushanbe
In a separate case, police in Dushanbe detained three men — Olim Nazarov, Karimi Muin Khamzazoda, and Shahrom Yatimov — for impersonating police officers and extorting money from drivers. All three live in the Shohmansour and Firdavsi districts of the capital.
Nazarov reportedly rented a Toyota Camry, equipped it with a siren and flashing lights, and, along with his accomplices, stopped cars at night. They extorted money by fabricating traffic violations. In one incident, they took 950 somonis from a woman driver and, according to Nazarov, later committed a sexual assault. In another case, they extorted 1,000 somonis from another driver.
Investigators believe the group may be linked to additional cases of extortion and misconduct. The investigation remains ongoing.
