first net advert for hitman arrested (fwiw)

[Al Qaeda]

from Moscow Times 4 Jul 01
via http://www.planetpdf.com/mainpage.asp?webpageid=1532

Moscow police have arrested a contract
killer who advertised his services
via the Internet in the first such detention
in Russia, Itar-Tass reported Tuesday.

The Moscow police department for
fighting high-technology crimes spotted
the advertisement in May, department
chief Dmitry Chepchugov was
quoted as saying.
Moscow agents disguised as potential
clients corresponded with the alleged
hit man, and when they established
that he resided in Samara, about
900 kilometers southeast of Moscow,
they alerted local police.
The man, whose name was not disclosed,
was handcuffed after undercover
agents paid him several thousands
of dollars and heard him stating
the date of the assassination they pretended
to be asking for, Chepchugov
said.
He added that the Internet was becoming
increasingly popular with Russian
criminals for financial frauds.
He said law enforcement agencies
of Russia and the United States were
jointly investigating a case in which
Russians allegedly hacked U.S. credit
card information.
The hacker group stole some $400
million from U.S. credit card holders
just over the past few months, the officer
said.
Russian hackers have been involved
in several high-profile computer-
related crimes worldwide.
Hitman Busted After Advertising on Internet