An armed gang snatched $2.7 million from a passenger who arrived Wednesday at a Moscow airport, police said, according to RIA Novosti.

The passenger flew in from Istanbul to the capital's Sheremetyevo Airport at 6 am and was being awaited by a group of security guards that were to escort him from the airport parking lot, the Interior Ministry said.

But the gang tricked the guards by presenting them with police ID, driving them away in a minibus and handcuffing, said a report by Lifenews.ru, a news website believed to have close links to the security services.

The gang then intercepted the passenger and stole the bag containing the cash.

Another major theft took place in the parking lot of the same terminal of Sheremetyevo Airport earlier this month, when a man flying in from the Central Asian nation of Kyrgyzstan was robbed at gunpoint.

An unidentified gunman opened fire on the passenger from a car on November 13, stealing a bag believed to be holding $1.6 million.