Black diggers with an impressive arsenal of ammunition detained in Vitebsk
"Black diggers" who collected a cache of ammunition detained in Vitebsk, BELTA was informed by the information and public relations department of the Internal Affairs Directorate of the regional executive committee.
During operational-search activities, officers of the 7th department (for Vitebsk region) of the Main Directorate for Combating Organized Crime and Corruption of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, together with the criminal investigation department of the Pervomaisky District Department of Internal Affairs of Vitebsk, detained two brothers, both born in 1963. At their places of residence, weapons, ammunition, explosives, and improvised explosive devices were discovered and seized. The arsenal is quite impressive: a PPSh submachine gun, a sawn-off hunting rifle, two improvised explosive devices, F-1 grenades, cartridges of various calibers, an electric detonator, a homemade device for silent firing, grenade fuses, gunpowder, a TNT block, grenade fuses, casings and bullets of various calibers, a trigger mechanism from a WWII rifle, primers, and components for various types of firearms.
"Last year, one of the brothers had already come to the attention of law enforcement agencies in connection with the illegal trafficking of weapons and ammunition," the department noted.
The Vitebsk City Department of the Investigative Committee initiated criminal cases against the brothers under Part 2 and Part 3 of Article 295 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Belarus (illegal actions in relation to firearms, ammunition, and explosives). The sanction provides for punishment in the form of imprisonment for up to 10 years. The suspects have been placed in a temporary detention facility. The source of origin of the seized arsenal is being established.
As noted by Ruslan Bayazitov, Head of the 2nd Department of the 7th Directorate (for Vitebsk Region) of the Main Directorate for Combating Organized Crime and Corruption of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the search for and storage of ammunition often leads to various injuries and death. For example, in September of the current year in Tolochin, ammunition from the Great Patriotic War, stored at the residence of a citizen born in 1960, exploded, resulting in the loss of his arm. The second case occurred at the end of November in the Dubrovno district, where a resident of Orsha born in 1982 died in a field and was identified only by fragments of clothing.
The Directorate for Combating Organized Crime and Corruption for the Vitebsk Region of the Ministry of Internal Affairs appeals to citizens illegally storing weapons, ammunition, explosives, and explosive devices, with a request to voluntarily surrender them to the internal affairs bodies, which will exempt them from criminal liability. Citizens who have information about the activities of illegal diggers, or other persons illegally storing weapons and ammunition, are asked to report it to the nearest police department or by calling 102. Anonymity is guaranteed.
Alena Tikhonova