Russian investigators detained in probe linked to gangs

MOSCOW – A Moscow court has placed three high-ranking crime investigators in custody on suspicion of collusion with criminal gangs.

The three were ordered held for two months while the investigation into their cases continues, the state news agency Tass reported Tuesday.

Earlier in the day, the FSB security service said in a statement that the investigators’ homes were being searched in a probe against employees of the Investigative Committee who are suspected of abusing power and taking bribes from gangs. The committee is Russia’s main criminal investigative body.

Tass said those arrested were Denis Nikandrov, a top official in the committee’s Moscow department, and the director and deputy director of the agency’s internal security department, Mikhail Maksimenko and Alexander Lamonov.