MOSCOW, September 11 (RIA Novosti) – Seven Colombian nationals accused of stealing about $1 million worth of jewelry and cash at an exhibition in Russia’s second largest city, St. Petersburg, have been convicted and sentenced to prison terms, prosecutors said this week.
The theft took place at a jewelry exhibition in St. Petersburg in February 2012, the Northwest Transport Prosecutor’s Office said in a statement Tuesday, adding that the suspects had been detained when trying to leave for Colombia with jewelry, cash and personal items worth more than 33 million rubles (about $1 million at today’s exchange rate).
A district court in St. Petersburg has handed down sentences ranging from 2½ to 4 years to seven defendants, according to the statement, although it was not immediately clear when the verdict was issued.
An eighth Colombian national, Frank Israel Prieto Ávila, identified by Russian officials as the group’s leader, has also been convicted and sentenced to 4 years in prison, prosecutors said last week.
Two more Colombians were also convicted and sentenced in mid-August, bringing the total count to 10.
