Police have detained more than 40 suspected members of a gang involved in abductions, robberies and extortions in the Russian North Caucasus republic of Dagestan, the Russian Interior Ministry reported.

“Over 40 gangsters who had kept the entire [central Dagestani] city of Khasavyurt in fear for four years have been detained,” the ministry said.

No one was injured in the operation in Khasavyurt conducted jointly by Russian Interior Ministry units and Dagestani police officers.

Some 15 criminal cases have been launched against the detained suspects.

More that a decade after the end of a federal war against separatists in the Russian North Caucasus republic of Chechnya, Russian security forces continue to fight militants in other regions in the area, including Dagestan, where attacks on security forces, police and civilians are frequent.