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MOSCOW - A Russian court has convicted six men for selling forged copies of numberplates and passes reserved for senior Kremlin officials and the presidential bodyguard.
The gang sold plates and passes with a flashing blue light - or a migalka - for as much as US$200,000.
One package even included a numberplate with special codes for the Federal Guards Service, which protects the Kremlin elite including President Vladimir Putin. Passes were also sold to Kremlin buildings.
There is no evidence the fake plates and documents were used to breach Kremlin security. It appears the buyers were attracted because the plates give drivers effective immunity from the traffic police.
A system of codes is used on plates giving senior officials licence to break traffic rules at will and drive down the central lane on major roads.
The gang, including a former employee of Russia's foreign intelligence service and a former traffic policeman, were sentenced to between two and seven years for selling forged documents, forgery, fraud and bribery.
Russian media reported that the gang was caught after two cars with the same special plate - belonging to a senior officer in the Federal Guards Service - passed a traffic police cordon within two minutes.
- REUTERS
