PRAVDA
July 2, 2004

Russian, Armenian law enforcers step up cooperation

16:05 2004-07-02
The Russian Interior Ministry and Armenia’s Police Department will hold
a meeting in Yerevan on Friday. Russian Interior Minister Rashid
Nurgaliyev and Armenian police executive Aik Arutyunyan and other
senior officials of the above agencies are expected to take part in the
meeting.

The conferees will discuss issues of cooperation against organised
crime and efforts to decriminalise their economies.

The law enforcement agencies’ joint activities fall within the
jurisdiction of a series of bilateral and multilateral inter-government
agreements, 16 inter-department agreements dealing with various areas
of police activity, which were signed at the meetings of the Council of
Interior Ministers of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS).

Besides, the conferees will discuss efforts against the organised
international criminal groups and the search for their leaders. Drug
and human trafficking will also be central at the meeting.

Mr Nurgaliyev and Mr Arutyunyan have noted the importance of more
intensive information exchanges between their agencies.

The two countries’ law enforcement agencies regularly conduct search
and preventive operations. Moscow police, for example, have uncovered a
criminal group that comprised Russian and Armenian nationals who
produced counterfeit cognac Ararat, reports the Russian Interior
Ministry. Besides, Russian police exposed a group of Armenians who
counterfeited Russian roubles.

254 members and 45 leaders of organised criminal groups largely
composed of Armenian nationals have been brought to trial and 165
relevant criminal cases have been opened, according to the ministry.

Moscow police have also detained Martirosyan, an Armenian national
wanted in his republic for large-scale embezzlement and fraud.
Martirosyan has already been extradited to Armenia.