In the Investigation Department of the RA National Security Service, the preliminary investigation into the criminal case initiated on the fact of the acquisition, sale, storage, transportation or illegal carrying of firearms, cartridges, ammunition, explosives and devices from the Republic of Artsakh to the Republic of Armenia continues.

As a result of effective investigative and other procedural actions taken by the preliminary investigation body, as well as complex operative-search activities carried out in parallel with them, the identity of another person was established who illegally had acquired weapons and ammunition from the battlefield and illegally transported them to the Republic of Armenia.

In particular, during the preliminary investigation in the criminal case, a sufficient body of further investigative and procedural evidence was obtained that the deputy head of the Kashatagh district police department of the Republic of Artsakh for service A.B., participating as a police officer in the hostilities launched against the Republic of Artsakh, repeatedly visiting the territory of Jrakan (Jebrail) to solve various combat tasks, under still unclear circumstances, he illegally purchased a magazine with 8 cartridges of 9 mm caliber, 32 small caliber cartridges, weapons cleaning products, optical equipment, hunting rifles, 227 cartridges of 7.62 mm caliber, 1033 rounds of 5.45 mm caliber, 1 grenade, a total of 45 assault rifles of various models of the AK type, which are firearms. During the period from September 27, 2020 to November, 2020, he illegally transported the specified ammunition in parts and stored it in the utility room of the apartment of his friend S.G. in the village of Tegh, Syunik province, with the aim of further selling some of it. And he, based on the group interests of improving the performance of the given police unit and receiving incentives and awards from the leadership, after the end of the war, wanted to transfer the other part of the items prohibited for circulation to his trusted citizens, convince them or otherwise incite them to voluntarily present them to the given police department, registering it as weapons and ammunition that were voluntarily surrendered as a result of explanatory work. Thus, he sought to artificially inflate the performance of this police unit and create among society and the leadership the illusion of conscientious performance of official duties, without thinking about the critical need to provide weapons and ammunition to participants in the fierce hostilities ongoing during the same period.

That is, police officer A.B., acquiring means to commit a crime with direct intent, as well as deliberately creating other conditions, prepared to exceed his official powers, deliberately commit such actions that obviously should have gone beyond the scope of his powers, causing significant damage to legitimate interests of the state, but was unable to complete these actions due to circumstances beyond his control, since illegally acquired and stored weapons in large quantities were discovered and seized by officers of the RA NSS.

At the same time, as a result of large-scale investigative and other procedural actions taken during the preliminary investigation, a sufficient body of evidence was obtained that A. B. illegally purchased two AK-type assault rifles that he had illegally sold for a certain amount to his acquaintance S. B., who, in turn, transported and stored the mentioned machine guns, being firearms, in the apartment being the place of his actual residence, after which on November 3, 2020, an agreement was reached with another person on the sale of each machine gun in the amount of 500-600 USD.

For committing the above-mentioned criminal acts, on the basis of direct suspicion of committing a crime, A.B. was detained and charged on the grounds of Article 235, Part 2 and Article 309, Part 1 of the RA Criminal Code, and a petition was submitted to the court to choose detention as a measure of restraint.

Active criminal procedural and operative-search measures continue to be taken in the criminal case in order to identify other possible ammunition and weapons illegally transported from the battlefield to the territory of the Republic of Armenia and stored illegally, and to initiate criminal prosecution against all persons involved.

The National Security Service of the Republic of Armenia once again calls on persons who participated in hostilities and illegally transported and stored weapons and ammunition, explosives or devices, illegally imported with them into the territory of the Republic of Armenia during hostilities or after the establishment of the ceasefire, to voluntarily surrender to law enforcement bodies, which, in accordance with the procedure established by law, will serve as the basis for releasing a person from criminal liability.

At the same time, the persons performing public service are called upon to act with strict adherence to the principle of legality and are warned that the RA National Security Service will take effective measures to resolve each such case and apply liability measures to those responsible.

Note: the suspect or accused of an alleged crime is considered innocent as long as his guilt is not proven in a manner prescribed by the Code of Criminal Procedure of RA - by the court decision entered into legal force.