Assa-Irada, Azerbaijan
March 17 2005
Former minister was informed of criminal group
Baku, March 16, AssA-Irada
The law enforcement bodies had been aware of the criminal group led
by Haji Mammadov for four years, President Ilham Aliyev said in a
meeting with the National Security Ministry representatives on
Wednesday.
The criminal group, involved in kidnappings, murders and other
crimes, has recently been detained by the Ministry.
Aliyev said that in 2001, the Prosecutor General instructed the then
National Security Minister Namig Abbasov to conduct an operation and
investigate the suspicions concerning the criminal group and its
leader. However, no steps were taken in that direction then, the
President said.
`If the National Security Ministry had taken the matter seriously
then, numerous crimes could have been prevented.’
Speaking of the tasks of security agencies, President Aliyev noted
that until recently the Ministry has not carried out much work over
the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict over Upper Garabagh, which is of
great importance.
`I issued relevant instructions to Eldar Mahmudov when appointing him
to the position. He conducted a research and found out that this area
of the Ministry’s activity is on a low level.’*
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress