Raid against migrants in the concert hall

In the Krasnoyarsk region of Russia, OMON special forces, together with representatives of Russian nationalist movements, suddenly stormed a concert hall during a performance by a singer and conducted a raid.

Videos posted on social media show armed security forces entering the hall and interrupting the concert of Uzbek singer Jaloliddin Ahmadaliyev to check migrants from Central Asian countries, who made up the majority of the audience.

After that, officials checked the documents of the audience members one by one, separating men and women. Some attendees were taken out of the hall and placed in buses. It was reported that 26 foreigners were taken to the police station. It turned out that 8 of them were in Russia illegally.

According to media reports, the raid was conducted “to identify illegally arrived foreign citizens and those who may be involved in drug trafficking.”

“Employees of the regional Ministry of Internal Affairs, the FSB, and Rosgvardiya special forces arrived at the entertainment venue where the concert of Uzbek singer Jaloliddin Ahmadaliyev was taking place and checked 620 guests, 210 of whom were foreigners,” the statement noted.

It was noted that no prohibited items or substances were found on them.

It was reported that individuals with document issues or those who did not register for military service after obtaining Russian citizenship were detained.

As a result of the raid, law enforcement agencies initiated 19 administrative cases for violations of migration rules, as well as 3 criminal cases under part 3 of article 322 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (Fictitious registration of a foreign citizen or stateless person).

Previously, similar raids were more commonly conducted in dormitories, cafes, teahouses, markets, and even in sports halls.

However, this is the first case where a raid, document checks, and detentions of migrants occurred during a concert.