Police officers caught accepting bribe in Syrdarya

In the Khavos district of Syrdarya region, two police officers demanded a bribe in exchange for covering up a theft, the State Security Service reported.

According to the report, in October of this year, a private company engaged in horticulture in Khavos district reported that polyethylene sheeting had been stolen from its field. The local police department received the complaint.

Following this, two senior officers from the Rapid Response Unit, holding the ranks of lieutenant colonel and major, detained four individuals suspected of the theft. They then threatened to imprison the suspects and demanded 55 million soums to suppress the case.

Later, the officers collected 24 million soums from the suspects under the pretext of “covering the damages.” Additionally, they demanded another 11 million soums to avoid initiating criminal proceedings, to bypass pre-trial detention, and to present the collected documents in a way that would result in administrative liability rather than criminal prosecution.

During an operative action conducted jointly by the State Security Service of Sirdaryo, the regional prosecutor’s office, and the Personal Security Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the officers were caught red-handed accepting the 11 million-som bribe, with physical evidence seized.

A criminal case has been initiated against them under Article 210, Part 2, Subsections “b” and “g” of the Criminal Code (bribery), and they have been placed under pre-trial detention. Investigations are ongoing.

Previously, in Samarkand region, an employee of the Compulsory Enforcement Bureau was arrested for accepting a $500 bribe.