ITAR-TASS News Agency
TASS
March 18, 2005
Armenia denies Armenian origin of weapons smuggled into USA
By Tigran Liloyan
YEREVAN
The Armenian Security Service denies the claims that the weapons,
smuggled into the United States from the republics of the former
Soviet Union and the East European countries, were stolen or bought
on the territory of Armenia. First Deputy Director of the National
Security Service under the Government of the Republic Major-General
Grachia Arutunyan voiced this denial here on Friday. Nevertheless, he
admitted, the Armenian security services had carried out some arrests
in connection with the sensational report on weapons smuggled into
the United States. Eight firearms and ammunition were seized during
the arrest.
The FBI operation to cut short the activities of weapons smugglers
was carried out with the assistance of Russia and Armenia, U.S.
Attorney David Kelley reported on March 15. The weapons, mostly of
Russian make, were bought “on the territories of Georgia, Armenia and
some countries of Eastern Europe”, he added. Charges were brought
against eighteen suspects, seventeen of whom are already under
arrest, Kelley said. The gang had smuggled into the United States
Kalashnikov submachine-guns, portable grenade launchers, machine-guns
and portable ground-to-air missile complex via New York, Los Angeles
and Miami, the attorney noted.
General Arutunyan said the 37-year-old Artur Solomonyan, whom the FBI
had arrested as ringleader, was a citizen of Armenia. His brother,
Levon, was also arrested in the United States. Both brothers, the
general added, had left Armenia when they were yet students of the
republic’s Academy of Agriculture. They went to the United States in
1998 and 2000 respectively in accordance with a students study
program and never came back. The Armenian police declared the
Solomonyan brothers wanted for dodging military service.