This is the moment the Russian secret service busts criminals attempting to assassinate a businessman in a gunfight in a forest after one of his relatives allegedly put a hit out on him in a bid to take over his hotel.

The incident took place in an unspecified location in Crimea, which is currently under Russian control since its annexation from Ukraine in 2014. The hotel is located in the city of Alushta, on the southern coast of the peninsula.

A first piece of footage, shared by the Russian authorities, reportedly shows Russian FSB agents taking part in a gunfight with the suspects.

The gunfight appears to take place in a wooded area, and the footage shows the Russian agents apparently advancing on the suspects’ vehicle while under fire. They can be seen returning fire, and the footage subsequently cuts to one of the suspects being detained by the authorities.

The footage then shows the authorities having gone through the suspect’s belongings. They also search the vehicle. At the end of the video, the suspect can be seen putting his items back in his rucksack while wearing handcuffs.

A second piece of footage reportedly shows another suspect being apprehended by the FSB. The suspect, who has not been named, can be seen talking with another man when the agents jump out of a four-wheel drive and wrestle him to the ground before handcuffing him. It is currently unclear how many suspects the authorities detained over the alleged plot to assassinate the unnamed businessman.

The hitmen were reportedly hired by a member of the businessman’s family, a relative who wanted to take control of the hotel, which is also unnamed, but which is located in the city of Alushta, on Crimea’s southern coast.

The Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation for the Republic of Crimea and the City of Sevastopol said in a statement obtained by Newsflash: “The Department for the Investigation of Particularly Important Cases of the Main Investigation Department of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation for the Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol have charged members of a criminal group with organising and complicity in preparing for the murder of an entrepreneur.”

The authorities said that the plot had been ongoing since November and that the criminals had been offered a reward of RUB 1 million (GBP 9,550). They said: “According to the investigation, in the period from November 2021 to January 2022, a resident of the city of Alushta had a criminal intent aimed at killing an entrepreneur. To do this, he sought out the perpetrators of the crime, offering them a monetary reward in the amount of RUB 1 million.”

They added that they had been paid some of the money in advance and that they would be paid the rest upon completion of the contract. The Russian authorities said: “As an advance, he gave them money in the amount of RUB 400,000 (GBP 3,820), and promised to transfer the remaining part in the amount of RUB 600,000 (GBP 5,730) to them after the crime was committed.”

The Russian authorities added: “However, the crime was not brought to an end due to the suppression of illegal actions by the employees of the FSB of Russia in the Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol and the OBOP CID of the Ministry of Internal Affairs in the Republic of Crimea.”

The defendants have been taken into preventive custody pending trial, with the authorities saying: “Given the gravity of the crime committed, the investigator has petitioned the court to order the defendant to take a preventive measure in the form of detention, the petition was granted in full. The criminal investigation is ongoing.”