Russian police stage fake murder to catch plotters

Russian police staged the fake murder of the head of a training academy in a sting to catch suspects who allegedly were plotting to kill the woman.

The elaborately planned scene was acted out late on Tuesday, when a plainclothes officer was sent to fake the stabbing of Kermen Basangova in the street near her car. Ms Basangova, the head of St Petersburg's Polar Academy, which trains civil servants, had uncovered financial irregularities at her workplace, and a colleague told police he had been recruited to help kill her.

In the sting operation, an undercover officer faked the murder, one of Ms Basangova's friends drove the "victim" – by then covered in fake blood – to a hospital, which subsequently announced she had died. After seeing reports of her death on several Russian news agencies, the alleged mastermind met with accomplices to pay $14,000. Police intercepted the handover and arrested the suspects.