MOSCOW, November 27 (RAPSI) – A team of federal and local law enforcement authorities detained alleged members of the extremist Islamist sect Takfir wal-Hijra cell, along with large amounts of weapons and explosives, the Interior Ministry reported Wednesday.

The police reports that 14 members of the organization were detained on Tuesday night in the eastern district of Moscow. Homemade explosives, pistols, grenades, ammunition, and extremist literature were found at the site of the raid.

The statement claim that the money used to fund the cell’s extremist activities was gained by criminal means.

Takfir wal-Hijra is a pan-Islamic religious sect that is believed to have emerged in Egypt in the 1970s or 1980s. It is active in numerous Middle Eastern states, including Syria and Lebanon. It was designated as an extremist organization and banned in Russia in 2010.

Earlier this month, police reported detaining another member of the group outside Moscow while he was seeking to recruit introverted young girls to the organization.