MOSCOW, April 10 (RIA Novosti) - Seven members of a Georgian criminal gang were sentenced Tuesday to between six and 20 years in prison for a series of armed robberies they committed in Moscow in the summer of 2005.
The Moscow City Court sentenced the gang's leaders, Georgy Pipy and Rezo Malania, to 20 and 18 years, respectively, in a high-security penitentiary, court spokeswoman Anna Usacheva said.
Five other members were given prison terms of six to 18 years.
The convicts were found guilty of committing eights armed attacks on individuals spotted converting large sums of money at exchange offices. They are said to have attacked 11 people in June through August 2005, stealing a total of $20,000 from them.
Two of the defendants were also convicted on charges of attacking a police officer.
