You're reading: FSB cuts off Europe-Russia arms smuggling route via Ukraine

Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) has closed down a route used by a group of Russian and Ukrainian citizens to smuggle weapons from Europe into Russia across Ukraine.

Officers of Russia’s FSB detained citizens of Ukraine and Russia, who are members of an organized criminal group, at the Donetsk-Izvarino international vehicle crossing point (Rostov region) at the state border of the Russian Federation on March 17,” an FSB spokesman told Interfax on Thursday.

Twelve Beretta, Desert Eagle, Smith & Wesson, Sig Sauer, MAB, CA-XD and other foreign-made pistols were confiscated from their car.

“Another two members of this criminal community were detained while selling weapons earlier delivered by them to one of the republics in the North Caucasus,” the spokesman said.

As police investigated the activities of an international organized criminal group, information was received that its members acquired a considerable amount of short-barreled firearms in a European Union country, “delivered them to the territory of Ukraine in the absence of proper control on the part of law enforcement agencies and then smuggled these weapons to North Caucasus republics by hiding them in caches set up in cars,” the spokesman said.