MOSCOW, August 24 (RAPSI) – Investigation into 13 alleged members of a notorious Russian gang charged with multiple killings and attempted murders has been completed, according to a statement made by the Investigative Committee’s press service.

Moreover, the defendants are charged with participation in a gang, racketeering, kidnapping, endangering the life law enforcement officers and ammunition trafficking, the statement reads.

Russian investigators claim that the gang allegedly organized by Georgian citizen Aslan Gagiyev has been operating since 2004 and includes over 50 members. Members of the gang committed more than 40 contract killings in Moscow, Moscow Region and North Ossetia including murders of high ranking officials, law enforcement officers and businessmen.

Gagiyev was extradited from Austria to Russia on June 20. He pleaded not guilty and refused to testify.

As of February 2018, 22 members of the gang were sentenced to long prison terms while two were sentenced to life and one was ordered to undergo compulsory treatment.