|
|
  |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
'Magic mushroom' guard kills five
MOSCOW, Russia -- A Russian border guard high on hallucinogenic mushrooms has killed five fellow servicemen and injured several others in a shooting spree, authorities say. "A serviceman opened fire with no apparent motive. As a result five people died and six are in hospital," Yuri Boyko of the Federal Border Guards told NTV television. The guard was "under the influence of hallucinogenic plants" when he opened fire in the southern region of Karachayevo-Cherkessia near Chechnya on Thursday night, the Border Guards said. The service gave no death toll, but Itar-Tass news agency quoted unnamed law enforcement agencies as saying eight soldiers had died in the incident. Hallucinogenic mushrooms, commonly known as "magic mushrooms," contain traces of powerful drugs. In large amounts they have effects comparable to LSD, one of the most potent psychoactive drugs known, Reuters reported. The Border Guards identified the guard as Denis Solovyov and said he was arrested immediately at the scene. The chief of Border Guards staff in the North Caucasus region arrived at the Ptysh border post to launch an investigation, the service said. Russia's border in the Caucasus is one of its most tightly guarded frontiers, with the highest concentration of troops and border posts. Russia has accused Georgia of harbouring Chechen rebels and allowing them to freely pass with supplies and reinforcements. Substance abuse is common in Russia's army. Every male between 18 and 27 is obliged to spend two years in the cash-strapped force, though a bill signed into law over the summer will allow young men to choose non-military service over the draft.
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
