Five traffickers detained for attempting to set up illegal trade in "captured" weapons in Ukraine – SSU. PHOTOS
The Security Service of Ukraine (SSU), in cooperation with the National Police, has prevented new attempts to establish illegal sales of weapons and ammunition across various regions of Ukraine, detaining five individuals.
This was reported by the Security Service of Ukraine, Censor.NET reports.
According to the SSU, a complex set of operational measures led to the detention of five traffickers who were illegally transporting weapons from former combat zones and attempting to sell them to criminal groups. Among the items seized were Russian-made grenade launchers, Kalashnikov assault rifles, explosives, and anti-tank mines.
Thus, in Zaporizhzhia and Lviv regions, two individuals involved in the scheme were exposed for trafficking "captured" assault rifles to western Ukraine.
The traffickers first disassembled the weapons into individual components, then concealed them inside refrigerator casings and hollow sections of metal doors. Using these improvised hiding spots, the suspects shipped the Kalashnikov rifles to clients via postal services. The packages were falsely declared as "household items."
In the Dnipropetrovsk region, two brothers from Nikopol were detained for trafficking anti-tank grenade launchers. One of them had been transporting the weapons from frontline areas in the Zaporizhzhia sector, while the other sought out "clients" among members of the local criminal underworld.
In the Mykolaiv region, a resident of the village of Prybuzhzhia was detained after setting up a cache of live grenades in a wooded area near his private residence. He offered the hidden ammunition to acquaintances with criminal backgrounds.
The SSU added that all the detainees have been served suspicion notices under Part 1 of Article 263 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (illegal handling of weapons, ammunition or explosives).
The offenders are in custody. They face up to 7 years in prison.
