Law enforcement dismantles criminal group involving minors in Tashkent

The operation was launched after a citizen filed a complaint with the Operational Search Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, reporting ongoing harassment and extortion by the group.

Investigative findings revealed that the suspects used physical violence against the victim and forced him to make a video recording while falsely accusing him of distributing illegal narcotics. The suspects then threatened to publish the footage on social networks to frame him as a criminal, and threatened to kill him unless he paid them $500.

During a sting operation conducted by the Operational Search Department, officers arrested the group members. The suspects include two individuals born in 2006 and two school students born in 2008 and 2009.

The suspects were caught red-handed while accepting $300 and UZS 2,400,000 from the victim at a parking lot in the Yunusabad district of Tashkent.

In the course of the operation, law enforcement officers seized $300 in cash, UZS 2,400,000, six mobile phones, a knife, and another sharp-bladed object as material evidence.

A criminal case has been initiated against the group's leader under several articles of the Criminal Code, including Part 2 of Article 165 (extortion), Part 3 of Article 127 (involving minors in anti-social behavior), and Part 1 of Article 112 (threatening to kill).

The other three suspects face charges under Part 2 of Article 165 (extortion) of the Criminal Code. A full investigation into the case is currently underway.