Скриншот эфира ОНТ
Belarusian state television ONT has reported new details about the detention of members of an armed organized group in the Viciebsk region that operated in Babruysk and Minsk in the late 1990s and early 2000s.
The story began in Babruysk in the early 2000s. Recently released from prison, Mikalai Marozau killed his stepfather during a conflict, dismembered the body, and buried the remains in a forest plantation near the village of Hrabova in the Babruysk District. When the man was reported missing and a police report was filed, Marozau went on the run and hid among other criminals. There, he met Vital Liankievich, the main figure in the future series of crimes.
In 2004, they decided to rob two sex workers who kept $5,000 and gold jewelry at home. After paying for services, the accomplices lured the women into a forest. Lenkievich secretly took apartment keys from a handbag and left, supposedly to go to a store. However, he failed to disable the alarm system during the robbery and was forced to hide for several hours. Returning to the forest, he decided to kill the women to avoid leaving witnesses. He struck one victim in the skull with a screwdriver and stabbed the other in the back near the heart. The bodies were placed in a pit, doused with gasoline, burned, and buried.
After that, Marozau fled abroad—first to Italy, then to Russia. Lenkievich remained in Belarus, believing he had covered his tracks. The women were declared missing. Police did not rule out a criminal case, but there was no evidence. Evidence was collected over the years.
In 2019, Marozau was lured back to Belarus and detained. During the investigation, he confessed to the murder of his stepfather and the double murder in the forest, showed burial sites, and identified his accomplice. Lenkievich was also detained. Both were sentenced to 25 years in prison.
The investigation uncovered other crimes committed by the group. It was established that while in hiding, Lenkievich attempted to resolve criminal matters through acquaintances but attracted the attention of a former police officer and decided to kill him. The attempt failed—the intended victim was not injured.
In Babruysk, Lenkievich, together with a new accomplice, Ihar Pasko, a member of a local organized crime group, carried out an armed attack on a currency dealer. They surveilled the victim for several days and assigned roles in advance. When the man approached his car after work, one of the attackers opened fire and stole a bag containing money. The victim survived.
In 2005 in Minsk, members of the group lured a Lithuanian citizen who was buying scrap metal into a garage and shot him for $1,000.
Pasko fled to Russia, where he was later convicted of drug trafficking. After his release, he was lured to Belarus, detained, and sentenced to 25 years in prison. Another suspect, Aliaksandr Syramolat, nicknamed “Racket,” a previously convicted member of a Babruysk organized crime group who supplied weapons, was also detained. During a search, hunting rifles and ammunition were seized from him.