Moldova Azi, Moldova
Jan 5 2005
Forces of Order Reported an Unprecedented Case of Hostage Taking
Two Armenian hostages were released last week from an apartment in
Slobozia town as part of a common operation organized by the Moldovan
Ministry of Internal Affairs, Transdniestrian militia and Armenian
forces of order.
Nicolae Dobos, employee of the Operative Services Department of MIA,
declared at a press conference that the two hostages are Edic
Davtean, aged 70, employee of an Armenian commercial firm specialized
in selling and installing equipment for the production of paper
articles and Kirakosean Gaghic of 47, the director of the same firm.
Dobos specified that Davtean was kidnapped in May 2004 by two
citizens of the self-proclaimed Transdniestrian republic who tempted
the old man to come to Kiev town under the pretext of installing the
machinery producing articles of paper. When in Kiev, Davtean was
doped and taken illegally to the Transdniestrian region.
Threatening his family with death, the kidnappers extorted from the
victim 25 Th. USD, his relatives managing to transmit only 10 Th.
USD.
On 7 December 2004, the same offenders called in Kiev the director of
the firm, Kirakosean, who was taken after the same scenario to the
apartment where Davtean was brought. For their release the offenders
asked 365 Th. USD.
The persons by whose order the kidnapping was performed were arrested
during the operations for freeing the hostages. They turned out to be
brothers Dadas and David Artiunov aged 41 and, respectively, 45. The
forces of order established that they were in collusion with other
two accomplices who are announced generally wanted at present.
Concomitantly, the police found out that the two brothers bought in
2001 from Kirakosean Gaghic’s firm machinery for the production of
paper articles. Afterwards, after gathering enormous debts towards
the businessmen and banks from the Transdniestrian region, they
decided to return their debts by extorting money from the two
hostages.
Transdniestrian forces of order initiated on the given case a
criminal record for hostage taking. The cited source mentioned that
this is the only case of this kind that was registered in Moldova
over the last ten years. //REPORTER.MD