“As a result of coordinated investigative measures on the territory of Moscow as well as in the Kirov and Penza Regions, five people were detained on suspicion of providing assistance to terrorist formation Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham [formerly Jabhat al-Nusra], which operates in Syria,” the FSB’s press office said in a statement on Wednesday, adding that the suspects were apprehended in three different regions of Russia.
“It has been established that the detainees shared the ideology of the international terrorist organization and followed instructions from top organizers within the terrorist organization, regularly channeling money to the accounts of militants located in the terrorist-controlled de-escalation zone of the Syrian Arab Republic in Idlib,” according to the FSB.
During searches of their residences, communication equipment, payment-transfer devices as well as documents proving their illegal activities were confiscated, the statement added.