Two 15-year-old schoolchildren have been detained in Russia's Kemerovo region after allegedly attempting to commit sabotage on a railway line for money, according to local transport law enforcement.
Investigators reported that the teenagers responded to an offer posted on the internet promising a cash payment of 40,000 rubles. The job required them to target railway equipment located along the track stretch between the Sudzhenka and Anzherskaya railway stations.
During the attempt, the youths tried to put the railway equipment out of service and set fire to an electrical relay cabinet along the tracks. Security forces apprehended both teenagers shortly after the incident and officially opened a criminal case against them on charges of sabotage.
The arrests were disclosed to Russian news outlet Lenta.ru by the Transport Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia for the Siberian Federal District. The regional transport department is the branch of the federal interior ministry responsible for policing railway infrastructure, station facilities, and transport corridors across Siberia.
Siberian Rail Corridor and Relay Systems
The incident took place along a section of track in Kemerovo Oblast, a region situated in southwestern Siberia that serves as one of Russia's primary industrial and coal-producing territories. Railway infrastructure in the province forms a critical transport link connecting Siberian freight routes with the rest of the national rail network.
Relay cabinets are specialized steel enclosures mounted beside railway tracks to protect control systems. They contain automated circuit breakers, signaling relays, and switching mechanisms that govern traffic lights and monitor track occupancy, ensuring that trains pass safely without risk of collision or derailment.
Precedent in Krasnodar Krai
The Siberian case reflects similar incidents recently examined in Russian courts involving individuals seeking online employment. The Krasnodar Krai Court previously identified 23-year-old local resident Artyom Borshchev as the perpetrator behind three separate acts of railway sabotage. In that instance, investigators similarly found that Borshchev had been searching for part-time work when he undertook the attacks.
Krasnodar Krai is a federal region in southern Russia stretching from the Sea of Azov to the Black Sea coast. Under the Russian Criminal Code, sabotage against transport infrastructure is classified as a severe state offense carrying lengthy prison sentences upon conviction.
