Seized criminal arsenals put on display by Russian law enforcement (VIDEO)
Russian law enforcement has seized a large cache of illegal weapons, including military-grade arms, in nationwide raids, the Federal Security Service (FSB) said on Monday.
The operations, carried out in 32 regions with the Interior Ministry and the National Guard, resulted in 43 arrests as authorities moved to clear the black market of dangerous weapons.
Among the more than 200 confiscated firearms were nine machine guns, 75 assault rifles, ten submachine guns, 71 pistols, one revolver, and 35 rifles, carbines, and shotguns, the FSB said.
Heavy weaponry included 17 grenade launchers, 356 mines – some anti-tank – seven artillery shells, over 1,500 hand grenades, and more than 250kg of explosives. Officers also seized more than 120,000 rounds of ammunition and shut down 27 underground weapon workshops.
The FSB noted that some of the weapons were foreign-made. Images released by the agency showed what appeared to be NATO-standard man-portable anti-tank systems, including the US-made FGM-148 Javelin and Sweden’s AT4.
Russian officials have repeatedly warned that the flow of Western weapons into Ukraine poses a global security risk, enabling criminals to acquire heavy arms in the war zone and use them elsewhere.
