In Tashkent, the activities of an organized crime group involved in selling rented apartments using forged documents have been halted. The criminals were apprehended red-handed while finalizing a transaction worth over $100,000.

The operation was carried out by the Department of Operational Search of the Ministry of Internal Affairs as part of the nationwide preventive measures "Safe and Healthy Country." The investigation was initiated based on operational information received through the ministry's hotline.

The investigation revealed that the mastermind behind the criminal scheme was a 34-year-old man previously convicted of fraud, theft, and document forgery. Failing to learn from his past, he recruited four accomplices aged between 26 and 46 to join the illegal activities.

The group's criminal scheme was meticulously planned: members would officially rent properties from owners, then secretly produce a set of fake ownership documents and list the properties for sale to unsuspecting clients.

One of the targets was a 95-square-meter apartment on Nukus Street in the Mirabad district. The fraudsters reached a verbal agreement with a buyer to sell the property at a price of $1,300 per square meter. The climax occurred at a notary office in the Yakkasaray district, where operatives detained all five group members as they were receiving $110,000.

Currently, a criminal case has been initiated against the detainees under Part 4 of Article 168 ("Fraud on an especially large scale committed by an organized group"). The suspects have been taken into custody.

Law enforcement agencies urge citizens to exercise maximum vigilance when conducting real estate transactions and not to trust verbal promises from strangers. They request immediate reporting of any suspicious cases or unlawful actions through the Ministry of Internal Affairs hotlines.

Source: podrobno.uz