The Supreme Court of the Republic of Komi, Russia, sentenced a karate world champion to 11 years in prison for his involvement in thief-in-law Yury Pichugin’s organized crime group.
Iktay Efendiev, 41, was found guilty of several serious crimes as part of Pichugin’s group, according to the regional investigative committee in charge of the case. The former karate world champion joined the organized crime world in 2004 and was responsible for caches of weapons and of ensuring the safety of their gang leaders. In 2010, he was involved in the abduction of a member of Pichugin’s crime group, whom they held at an unknown location before killing him. They then burned the body and buried it in the forest.
Yury Pichugin’s organized crime group was founded in 1994 and operated until their arrest in February 2018. 21 suspected members were arrested, many of whom charged with murder, extortions, fraud, and theft in the Komi and Arkhangelsk regions.
Efendiev reportedly reached a pre-trial agreement with investigators after providing information that was deemed useful to the case. Apart from his 11-year sentence, the former karate champion will be forced to pay a fine of 700,000 rubles ($10,750).
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