“They tied me up with scotch tape and took 23 million tenge”

Three criminals – two young men and a girl - carried out a daring attack on a pregnant woman in her own home,  during which they stole 23m tenge. The incident took place in the residential complex “Tomiris” on Valikhanov Street, Atyrau, on January 8. The police were immediately alerted and after a hot pursuit of the robbers, succeeded in detaining them.

According to the victim B., she had planned to go to the city on business that day. At three o'clock in the afternoon, while locking her flat,  she was thrown to the floor by two masked men who were concealed in the stairwell. She was dragged back to the apartment where her arms and legs were bound with adhesive tape. Her mouth was also sealed and she was thrown on to the sofa.  At this point the victim noticed that the two men were joined by a girl, and all three searched the apartment for money. They found the owner’s savings – some 23m tenge – which were intended to enable her to buy new housing.

“As soon as they left, I was released and began to call for help from the balcony. Someone dialled ‘102’ and the police arrived almost immediately. That same day they succeeded in detaining the criminals and the police returned the money to me”, the victim told the correspondent of “ AZh ”.  Social networks later reported that a three-year-old girl had allegedly opened the door for criminals, but this is incorrect.

The incident has been confirmed by Atyrau Oblast Police Department, who reported that three young Atyrau residents had been detained.  These individuals had been picked up on video surveillance cameras. A pre-trial investigation has commenced.

The victim, who is in her 6th month of pregnancy, is struggling to recover from her ordeal. An ultrasound investigation has been scheduled to check whether the incident (and the resulting stress), has had any impact on the baby.

At this stage it is not known how the robbers got into the elite guarded complex nor how they found out that there was a considerable amount of cash in the apartment. However, it is expected that the police will focus on these  wider issues as a significant element of their investigation.