The Security Service of Ukraine and the National Police have thwarted attempts to illegally sell ‘trophy’ weapons and ammunition in several regions of Ukraine.

Six channels for illicit weapons trade have been dismantled as a result, and the organisers of the schemes have been detained.

Items seized include Kalashnikov assault rifles, such as the latest russian AK-12 model, as well as 130 anti-tank grenade launchers, over 380 combat grenades and almost 20,000 rounds of ammunition of several calibres.

Four active-duty and former military personnel were detained in the Kyiv and Donetsk regions for covertly transporting weapons from frontline areas in eastern Ukraine, intending to sell them.

One of the suspects was apprehended in the Kyiv region while removing a Kalashnikov assault rifle and a grenade launcher from the boot of his car to sell them. Three more suspects were detained in Kramatorsk.

In the Khmelnytskyi region, a former serviceman was arrested on suspicion of planning to sell weapons taken from the front lines to make money after retiring.

During the searches, the law enforcement found caches that the man had set up on his property and at his parents’ home.

The investigators seized an AKS-74 assault rifle, 16 combat grenades, 74 TNT blocks, 1.2 kg of gunpowder and over 3,000 rounds of ammunition in the caches.

In the Kirovohrad region, a weapons dealer who had recruited acquaintances from several regions to sell hand grenades and two Kalashnikov assault rifles (including an AK-12 with ammunition) has been exposed.

The SSU detained the organiser in the act as he attempted to sell a batch of weapons and ammunition.

In Bukovyna, another suspect has been apprehended: he had collected an arsenal of RGO and F-1 grenades for sale while serving in the combat zone.

To smuggle them to his clients, he concealed the munitions in postal packages among food supplies.

In Kharkiv, a 16-year-old was arrested for attempting to sell a russian Kalashnikov assault rifle with four loaded magazines and three combat grenades.

The SSU documented the suspect’s crimes and apprehended him in the act while he was selling the weapons in the city centre.

In Zaporizhzhia, a weapons dealer who was recruiting criminals to sell 150 fragmentation grenades smuggled out of the combat zone on the southern front has been exposed.

The detainees have been declared suspects under Articles 28.2 and 263.1 of the CCU (illegal handling of weapons, ammunition or explosives, upon prior conspiracy, by a group).

The suspects face up to seven years in prison.

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