Criminal investigation

Russia police probe 'dark net' murder case

Police in Russia are investigating what could be the world's first documented case of a contract killing ordered via the so-called dark net.

High-ranking police investigator Yevgeniya Shishkina was shot dead outside her home near Moscow in October 2018.

Five months later, local police announced they had arrested two people in connection with the killing - a 19-year-old medical student called Abdulaziz Abdulazizov, and a 17-year-old schoolboy, who cannot be named for legal reasons. Both are from St Petersburg.

Drug sales

Preliminary details of the case, which has shocked Russian investigators, have been shared unofficially with BBC Russian by sources close to the investigation. A court case is expected later this year, in which the two students face prosecution.

The documents allege that the pair were paid one million rubles (£12,000) to carry out the murder. According to the police reports, the order was placed by the owner of a drug-dealing site on an illegal online trading platform on part of what is known as the dark net.