A criminal group stole 150 kg of copper from the Vitebsk locomotive depot

April 5, Vitebsk / Olga Bogacheva - BELTA /. A criminal group stole 150 kg of copper worth Br7.5 million from the Vitebsk locomotive depot. This was reported to a BELTA correspondent by the head of the Vitebsk Department of Internal Affairs on Transport (VDT) Sergey Stelmak. In March of this year, the head of the electric machine shop of the Vitebsk locomotive depot established the fact of theft of 71 copper sections of electric motor armature windings from the shop premises, with a total value of over Br7.5 million. During operational-search activities, employees of the Vitebsk VDT found out that the attackers broke into the service premises by breaking a padlock on the metal door. Currently, three men suspected of theft have been detained. The main organizer among them is a 36-year-old unemployed resident of the Vitebsk region, previously convicted of rape. The degree of involvement of his two accomplices, railway workers, is being established. The motive for the crime was greed: the members of the criminal group planned to sell the non-ferrous metal to resellers. The main part of the stolen parts, hidden in a landfill, has been seized. A criminal case has been initiated against the detainees under Art. 205 of the Criminal Code of Belarus. In addition, they will have to compensate for the damage caused to Belarusian Railways.