Tyumen Courier Detained in Fake Kidnapping Case

A court has arrested a 22-year-old courier from Tyumen. He is a suspect in the case of the fake kidnapping of 14-year-old son of Krasnoyarsk businessman Andrei Kaplya. It is known that the young man will remain in pre-trial detention until 22 March 2026.

The prosecution insisted on arrest because the suspect lives in Tyumen, is unemployed and not a student, meaning there is a risk he might flee or destroy evidence. The courier himself objected. He admitted his actions but stated he does not consider himself involved in fraud — and even planned to rent housing in Krasnoyarsk. The court sided with the prosecutor.

According to investigators, on 21 January the man flew from Surgut to Krasnoyarsk on the instructions of scammers. On the evening of 22 January — the day the teenager disappeared — he picked up a backpack with money from 18-year-old Adelina Batyrova near the Sever restaurant on Lenin Street and left it at a prearranged location. On the night of 24 January, he took a taxi to Novosibirsk, where he awaited further instructions. He was detained on 1 February in Blagoveshchensk.

He will be charged shortly. The search for other participants and the money continues.

Recall, the Tyumen man was detained on 1 February in Blagoveshchensk.

Earlier, we reported everything known about this story. For example, on the evening of 22 January, 14-year-old Nikolai Kaplya left his home in Serebryany Bor. Together with an 18-year-old girl who came from Surgut, they opened family safes and took 2.5 million rubles (approximately $27,800 at current rates). The father was demanded 30 million rubles (approximately $333,300 at current rates) as ransom. The teenager was found the next day — he was acting under the influence of scammers posing as police. Adelina is also in pre-trial detention and also claims she became a victim.