Baltic States – CIS, Crime, Estonia, Legislation, Markets and Companies
International Internet Magazine. Baltic States news & analytics
Friday, 26.04.2024, 00:29
Nightclub set on fire in Tallinn to hide double murder of underworld figures
Rait Pikaro, head of the service for combating crimes against the person at the North
prefecture of the Police and Border Guard Board, admitted that this has
been one of the most difficult murder proceedings in the last few years. While
the Estonian media at the beginning of August wrote about the arrest of Slava Gulevitsh, head of the Kemerovo
criminal group, in Spain in relation to drug business, Pikaro and his men were
dealing with solving the double murder of the two so-called foremen of the same
group in Estonia.
The bodies of the men who had been missing since the beginning of the year
were found a few weeks ago in the well of a farm in the rural municipality of
Kolga-Jaani in Viljandi County, which the officials of the rescue service
removed under the supervision of the investigators. This finally confirmed the
investigators' earlier belief that the two middle managers or foremen of the
notorious Kemerovo group have been killed and their acquaintances are behind
it. Two people suspected of carrying out the murder were taken into custody by
the court.
It was a completely different criminal proceeding connected with the fire
of the Poseidon nightclub in Tallinn on January 22 that led the investigators
on the tracks of the double murder of the criminal figures. While the initial
belief was that the entertainment venue operating in the building of Tallinn
Linnahall caught fire at night due to an electrical short circuit, then the
investigators soon reached the understanding that the nightclub was set on
fire. A large amount of narcotics were found during the search of the premises
which led to the detention of the club's owner.
According to information available to Postimees, four men linked with the
Kemerovo group came to spend time in the nightclub on January 16. An argument
began between the acquaintances during the night, during which two men now
suspected of having carried out the murder, one 36 years old and the other 37
years old, repeatedly punched and kicked their opponents and struck them with a
knife.
In order to hide the bloodshed, the bodies of the victims were transported
to an abandoned farm in Viljandi County, where they were thrown in a well. A
few days later the nightclub was also set on fire to cover up the tracks.
Those involved thought that they had done everything to successfully hide
the murder of their criminal acquaintances, but the investigators proved the
opposite. The arson led the police step by step closer to the murder. Thus, the
man who set the nightclub on fire was caught and a number of crimes concerning
drugs and violence were identified.