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NALCHIK, March 24 The Ipatovsky District Court in the Stavropol Territory began considering a criminal case against 55 people who are accused of stealing mineral fertilizers and wheat worth more than 35 million rubles, according to the prosecutor's office of the region.
«In the Ipatovsky District Court, a criminal trial has begun in relation to an organized criminal group consisting of 55 persons. Depending on the role and degree of participation, they are accused of committing nine episodes of crimes under the article» Theft committed by an organized group of persons, causing damage on an especially large scale» of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation,» the report says.
According to the case file, from 2017 to 2019, two former law enforcement officers created an organized criminal group, which involved agronomists and combine operators of Stavropol Runo LLC. The defendants, according to investigators, stole more than 1,000 tons of fertilizers from the LLC's storage facilities, in particular, «by underestimating the rate of their application to the soil when cultivating fields during agricultural work.»
«In addition, the participants of the criminal group, during the harvesting work, stole more than 2,000 tons of wheat, using their own trucks, which took agricultural products from the fields of the enterprise,» notes prosecutor's office.
It is specified that the total amount of damage caused by Stavropol Runo LLC exceeded 35 million rubles.