GTA gang
| Founded | March 2012 |
|---|---|
| Founded by | Ibaydullo Subkhanov (alias Rustam Usmanov) |
| Named after | Grand Theft Auto video game series |
| Founding location | Udelnaya, Moscow Oblast, Russia |
| Years active | 2012-2014 |
| Territory | Active on the motor roads around Moscow |
| Ethnicity | Central Asia, predominantly Tajik and Uzbek |
| Membership | 8 - 16 |
| Criminal activities | terrorism, murder, robbery, weapons manufacturing and trafficking |
| Allies | ISIL and Hizb ut-Tahrir |
The "GTA Gang" (Russian: банда ГТА; Banda GTA) is the nickname of a violent gang of murderers and terrorists active on the Federal Automobile Road M-4 near Moscow, Russia. The gang was most active between 2013 and 2014, stopping cars late at night using homemade caltrops and murdering the occupants. The Russian mainstream media dubbed them the "GTA gang" after the computer game Grand Theft Auto, in reference to the violent behaviour exhibited by the gang members.
The gang was founded in March 2012 by Ibaydullo Subkhanov, a Kyrgyz national living in the village of Udelnaya near Moscow, as a self-proclaimed "jamaat" with the purpose of training soldiers for the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. Subkhanov, operating under the alias Rustam Usmanov, believed a revolution would soon occur in Uzbekistan and Islamic soldiers would be needed in the fight. He would bring new members along with him on "missions" as a form of training, and forced new members to kill victims of their crimes as a way of proving their dedication to the cause.
On 6 November 2014, police raided an estate on Gor'kov Street in Udelnaya, resulting in the death of Subkhanov and the arrest of nine other gang members. The accused began their trials in 2016. On 1 August 2017, three members of the gang were killed and two others wounded during an escape attempt from a Moscow courthouse.
According to investigators, Subkhanov formed the group in March 2012 to train soldiers for Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). The gang would damage the tires of passing vehicles before ambushing the driver and any passengers. Over the course of two and a half years, the gang is credited with seventeen murders and seriously injuring two others in the Moscow and Kaluga Oblasts. Russian media began warning travellers about the gang in the summer of 2014, comparing their violent robberies with the actions of characters in the Grand Theft Auto video games series. Police agencies issued warnings to travellers not to stop until reaching a police road post or petrol station.
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Wikipedia