The SSU and the National Police have prevented illegal trade in trophy weapons and ammunition in four regions of Ukraine.

As a result of operations in Dnipro, as well as in Zakarpattia, Ternopil and Zhytomyr regions, 7 arms dealers have been apprehended.

Among the weapons seized from them are russian Dzhmil grenade launchers, Kalashnikov rifles and over 3 kg of explosives.

In Dnipro:

The SSU detained a local businessman who smuggled trophy weapons from battle areas on the eastern front to sell them to criminals.

The perpetrator set up a cache on the territory of his car service station to store the weapons.

In Zakarpattia region:

A 50-year-old resident of Berehove was detained ‘red-handed’ after attempting to clandestinely sell automatic weapons, combat grenades and a large batch of TNT.

The individual was hiding all this in an underground cache he had set up in the woods near his house.

In Ternopil region:

The SSU uncovered another two traffickers who offered trophy weapons through specialized Internet forums and then sent them to customers as ‘car parts’ by mail.

In Zhytomyr region:

Three residents of Korosten, who had previously been prosecuted for theft, were detained for illegal arms trafficking.

They smuggled munitions from the sites where battles had been fought in eastern Ukraine. They travelled there as ‘volunteers’ and sold the found weapons through personal criminal connections.

Based on the SSU’s investigations, the detained individuals have been notified of suspicion under Article 263.1 of the CCU (illegal handling of weapons, ammunition or explosives).

The suspects are in custody and face up to 7 years in prison.

The operations were carried out under the procedural supervision of Kryvyi Rih Specialized Defence Prosecutor’s Office of the Eastern Region, Berehove District Prosecutor’s Office, Ternopil Region Prosecutor’s Office and Zhytomyr Specialized Defence Prosecutor’s Office of the Central Region.