MOSCOW. Sept 13 (Interfax-AVN) - Nearly 650 abduction cases have been opened in Russia this year, chief of the Interior Ministry's T center at the organized crime and terrorism department Taimaz Imakov told a press conference in Moscow.
"Abductions remain a problem," Imakov said.
Only 404 of these have been solved, he said.
"The number of abductions is stable at 0.2% of the general amount of serious crimes," Imakov said.
A total of 1,271 abductions were registered in 2003; 1,172 in 2004; 1,137 in 2005; and 1,007 in 2006, he said.
The number of abductions, including those in Chechnya, has been on decline since the late 1990s. Chechnya registered 62 abductions, 33 of which have been solved, he said.
About 40% of the abductions are made for ransom and commercial benefits; about 10% are rooted in family conflicts and ethnic traditions, about 45% supply money for criminal groups, and about 5% to put pressure on public, political and governmental entities, he said.