The organizers of a sham rehab in Nizhny Novgorod were convicted of kidnapping people.

      30 September 2025 14:25 Incidents

      In the Nizhny Novgorod region, a court found six people who were part of an organized criminal group guilty of abducting people for mercenary purposes. According to the regional Investigative Committee, a total of 15 people suffered from the OCG's actions.

      According to the investigation, the former director of one of the addiction treatment centers created a criminal scheme disguised as a rehabilitation center. From March to November 2023, his accomplices abducted people dependent on alcohol and drugs and forcibly held them in a private house in the settlement of Bolshoye Kozino in Balakhna District.

      Most often the "patients" were brought at the request of relatives who paid for the sham treatment. In reality, people were simply locked up in the house: the windows had bars, the property was fenced, and doors and gates were locked.

      It was impossible to leave the "center" premises. For violating the rules, those held were subjected to "educational" measures. At the same time, relatives were told that everything was happening according to the law and in the interests of their loved ones. The group members regularly received money for each "rehab patient." The victims included residents of Nizhny Novgorod and Ivanovo regions, as well as St. Petersburg.

      Thanks to the joint work of the Investigative Committee and the police, the "center's" activities were halted in November 2023. All those held were released.

      The court sentenced six members of the OCG to imprisonment for terms of six to eight years. They will serve their sentences in a strict‑regime penal colony.

      The criminal case against the former director of the center has been separated into a separate proceeding and suspended due to his being located in the zone of the special military operation.

      Earlier reports said that four men had abducted and held a Nizhny Novgorod resident in an apartment to extort money.

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