The Security Service, the State Bureau of Investigation and the National Police have dismantled a further four channels for the illicit sale of ‘trophy’ weapons, ammunition and explosives in several regions of Ukraine.

Following extensive operations, 11 organisers of these schemes were arrested, including a former chemistry student, an IT specialist and a military serviceman who were illegally selling weapons.

Items seized from the perpetrators included over 45 kg of explosives, 15 Kalashnikov assault rifles, two grenade launchers, a batch of RGD-5 and F-1 combat grenades, and almost 10,000 rounds of various-calibre ammunition.

In the Kyiv region, two law enforcement officers from Chernihiv were caught attempting to sell an AK-74 assault rifle and 60 rounds of ammunition. They also intended to sell almost 4,000 rounds of ammunition for other types of small arms.

According to the investigation, the officers had travelled to the Kyiv region to sell weapons that had previously been seized as part of another criminal investigation and were being held as material evidence.

In Kharkiv, a clandestine workshop producing domestically made explosives was dismantled. A criminal group was involved in producing such explosives to sell.

The investigation revealed that the criminal ring was organised by a local businessman and his wife, a Kharkiv University Faculty of Chemistry graduate.

They recruited three other people to help with the illegal activities, including an IT specialist who advertised ready-made explosives on the dark web.

According to the investigation, the suspects had set up a ‘lab’ in rented premises in the centre of Kharkiv. There, they synthesised the chemical substances which they then sold to customers.

In the Dnipropetrovsk region, three suspects were detained while attempting to sell an AKM assault rifle and approximately three hundred rounds of ammunition.

To avoid detection, the dealers buried the weapon and ammunition on the grounds of an abandoned property before sending the address to their client from a hidden number.

In the Donetsk region, a contract soldier has been declared suspect for attempting to sell weapons taken from the front line.

He was arrested by the law enforcement in Kramatorsk while attempting to sell thirteen AK-74s and 300 rounds of ammunition for a grenade launcher.

All those detained have now been notified of their status as suspects under the Articles of the CCU:

• 28.2, 263.1 (unlawful handling of weapons, ammunition, or explosive substances, committed by a group, by prior conspiracy);
• 263-1.2 (unlawful manufacture of explosive substances or explosive devices, committed by a group, by prior conspiracy).

The perpetrators face up to 10 years’ imprisonment.

The operations were carried out under the procedural supervision of the Prosecutors’ Offices.