Since the start of 2021, the SSU has seized 476 weapons, almost 183,000 rounds of ammunition, 384 kg of explosives and 417 explosive devices. Overall, 18 cases of weapons smuggling and 10 arms caches have been exposed.

Acting chief of the SSU Main Directorate for Fighting Corruption and Organized Crime Andriy Lysiuk briefed the audience at a meeting at the Prosecutor General’s Office.

Surplus of weapons in the country may lead to their use to resolve domestic conflicts. Moreover, it is a tool used in the hybrid warfare against Ukraine. At this stage, arms smuggling becomes a threat to state security. The SSU has recorded numerous cases when foreign special services used organized crime for intelligence and subversive activity,’ Andriy Lysiuk informed.

A considerable amount of various types of weapons is concentrated on the occupied territories and in the grey zone along the contact line. From the JFO area, it is smuggled to other regions.

Andriy Lysiuk added that, besides seizing illegal weapons in the JFO area, the SSU counters unlawful storage of unregistered arms and ammunition in the military, shuts down smuggling channels and clandestine workshops.

Over this year, the SSU exposed 18 cases of smuggling of munitions and 7 cases of illegal redesign of arms.

The SSU carried out one of such operations jointly with the law enforcement of the US, Poland and the Europol to shut down a channel for smuggling of disassembled firearms to Ukraine. The parts were smuggled from the US via Poland to Ukraine.

Over this year, the SSU operations led to 18 convictions, 11 individuals were notified of suspicion.