Azerbaijan, Baku / Trend corr. K.Zarbaliyeva / Another member of the gang who attacked the Lukoil filling station was detained in Baku, Azerbaijan. Bakhtiyar Orujev was arrested in Baku on 20 November at 3:00am, the Azerbaijani National Security Ministry reported on 21 November.
Masked robbers attacked a Lukoil filling station located on Heydar Aliyev Avenue in the Nizami District of Baku on the evening of 31 October. According to Office 23 of the Nizami District Police, the thieves seriously injured an employee at the station and stole a large sum of money. The suspects have not been identified yet, however the police are investigating the incident and search operations are being carried out to capture them.
A criminal case has been filed for contravening Articles 181 (robbery) and 228 (illegal possession of a weapon) of the Criminal Code of Azerbaijan. The robbers stole AZN 2,800. Lieutenant Kamran Asadov, an officer from military division N of the Defence Ministry, acting in a criminal conspiracy with other members of a radical Vahabists group, deserted his military unit and took with him four submachine guns, one machine gun and 20 grenades, along with shells and other military equipment. Law enforcement agencies of Azerbaijan have established that the radical religious group intended to commit terror acts in strategic buildings, including diplomatic facilities.
Officials at the Azerbaijani National Security Ministry reinforced security measures after spreading information about the planned terrorist acts directed against foreign embassies in Azerbaijan. The operational measures by the Azerbaijani National Security Ministry revealed that Asadov was a member of Vahabists religious group. The criminal hid some of the guns in the Ismayilli region of Azerbaijan. The armed group was detained at 104, Sadova Ave, Mashtaga, Baku, on 27 October. One of the criminals was murdered during the operation.
During the investigation other members of the group were detained, So, Vugar Aliyev, a resident of the region of Khirdalan, and Elshan Mammadov, a resident of Baku, were detained. Aliyev and Mammadov spoke about the plans of the group in their statements. They planned to implement terror acts in a range of foreign embassies in Azerbaijan, including the United States Embassy in Azerbaijan. During questioning Asadov and Jabbarov said that Bakhtiyyar Orujov also took part in the attack on Lukoil.