The Security Service of Ukraine and the National Police have exposed eight individuals suspected of illegal arms trafficking
The Security Service of Ukraine and the National Police announced that they had prevented attempts to establish illegal sales of weapons and ammunition that had been removed from frontline areas and combat zones.
As a result of the measures taken, eight people suspected of illegal trade in weapons were detained.
Among the items seized from the suspects, law enforcement officers mention Russian Kalashnikov assault rifles, Dzhmil rocket-propelled infantry flamethrowers, Val silent-fire assault rifles, anti-tank grenade launchers, and nearly 20,000 rounds of ammunition of various calibres.
In the Kyiv region, law enforcement officers detained the owner of a service station and two of his accomplices. According to the investigation, they attempted to sell weapons that had been transported from the frontline areas of eastern Ukraine.
It was established that the suspects stored the weapons in hiding places set up in a garage and a guest house on the territory of private households.
The suspects were detained while selling the combat arsenal. It included anti-tank rocket-propelled grenades, an underbarrel grenade launcher, AK series assault rifles and ammunition.
During searches of the suspects' residences, an anti-tank guided missile, 192 mm grenade launcher rounds in boxes, a rocket-propelled flamethrower, nine small arms and more than 11,500 rounds of ammunition of various calibres were additionally seized.
In Donetsk Oblast, two mobilised persons were exposed who are suspected of removing captured weapons from the front line for further sale.
Both men were detained in the Kramatorsk district while attempting to sell an RPG-22 anti-tank grenade launcher and five AK-47 assault rifles.
In Dnipropetrovsk region, law enforcement officers exposed two individuals who had previously served sentences for illegal arms sales. According to the investigation, an employee of a local metal warehouse and an acquaintance set up an underground workshop in a garage on the territory of a private house.
In this room, they restored the combat capabilities of small arms for further sale.
In the Khmelnytskyi region, a Kyiv resident suspected of selling weapons was detained. According to law enforcement officers, he also prepared for sale more than 1.6 kilograms of plastic explosives, 11 combat grenades, more than 2,000 rounds of ammunition, a grenade launcher and smoke grenades.
As part of separate investigative actions, law enforcement officers seized over 11,500 rounds of ammunition of various calibres, nearly 200 artillery and engineering munitions, four grenade launchers, including an RPO-A "Shmel" rocket launcher, nine small arms, six grenades with fuses, mechanisms for small arms, and explosives.
The three detainees have been notified of the charges against them, and the court has remanded them in custody.
The suspects have been notified of suspicion under Part 1 of Article 263 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine regarding the illegal handling of weapons, ammunition or explosives.
The issue of additional charges against the suspects is being decided. If proven guilty, they face up to seven years in prison.
Comprehensive measures were carried out by employees of the Main Directorate of the Security Service of Ukraine in Kyiv and the Kyiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Khmelnytskyi, Donetsk and Luhansk regions under the procedural guidance of the Prosecutor's Office of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol, the Khmelnytskyi Regional Prosecutor's Office, the Central District Prosecutor's Office of the city of Dnipro and the Donetsk Specialised Prosecutor's Office in the field of defence of the Eastern region.
Operatives of the criminal investigation department and investigators of the Main Directorate of the National Police in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol, with the support of the KORD special unit of the Main Directorate of the National Police in the Kyiv region, were also involved in exposing the group of individuals.
