Three social media influencers were recently sentenced to more than three years in a Russian correctional colony for impersonating a ride-sharing company driver and pretending to steal his car.
In March of 2021, according to Televisa News, the three bloggers decided to recreate one of their most popular pranks and upload the video to social media.
One of the bloggers was in the car at the time and recorded the whole thing, including the driver’s reaction. In the hoax video, one of the gang members leaped into the driver’s seat and drove away in the high-end BMW while the driver assisted another group member with loading bags into the trunk. According to sources, the taxi was quickly returned, telling the concerned of the prank, which led to legal penalties.
Aidyn Tussupov, who has 1.2 million Instagram followers, has been identified as one of the guys involved. According to Televisa News, the event occurred in March, when the trio decided to make a joke on a taxi driver. ‘Despite returning the vehicle minutes later, the driver had already informed the police,’ the copy continued. Authorities decided to sentence them to three years and six months in prison because this is considered to be their first prank.’
A court ruling on Thursdays read “Dumshebay E., Tusupov A., Khasanov R. N. were found guilty of committing a crime under paragraph 2 of Article 166 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation and they were sentenced to real imprisonment, for a period of three years and six months, with serving punishment in a general regime penal colony,”
Russian correctional colonies, according to Lad Bible, accommodate roughly 800 inmates who dwell in barracks of 100 to 120 individuals. According to reports, each barrack has only one bathroom with one toilet and one sink.
Ramir Khasanov, one of the three influencers convicted in this case, sparked outrage in March of last year, during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic when he pranked Alma-Ata metro commuters by coughing and placing a handkerchief full of blood to his mouth.