Russian Security Services Detain 150 in Nationwide Illegal Firearms Crackdown

Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB), in collaboration with the Interior Ministry and National Guard, has successfully detained 150 individuals involved in illegal firearms manufacturing across 42 regions of the country. The announcement was made by the FSB’s Public Relations Center.

According to the statement, authorities dismantled a network engaged in the illegal trafficking and restoration of civilian weapons in underground workshops, effectively halting their illicit activities. Investigative measures were carried out in February and March, leading to the seizure of a significant amount of weapons and explosives. Specifically, law enforcement confiscated 364 firearms - including four machine guns, seven grenade launchers, 49 submachine guns, 140 pistols and revolvers, as well as 164 rifles, carbines, and shotguns. Additionally, over 185 grenades, more than 36 kilograms of explosives (TNT and gunpowder), and upwards of 31,000 rounds of ammunition of various calibers were recovered.

The crackdown also resulted in the shutdown of 41 underground workshops specializing in weapon upgrades and ammunition manufacturing. The operations spanned numerous regions, including Moscow, the Donetsk and Lugansk People's republics, and the republics of Altai, Bashkortostan, Buryatia, Ingushetia, Mordovia, Tuva, and Khakassia. Other areas involved were Trans-Baikal, Krasnodar, Krasnoyarsk, Primorye, Amur, Astrakhan, Belgorod, Bryansk, Vladimir, Volgograd, Voronezh, the Jewish Autonomous Region, Ivanovo, Irkutsk, Kaluga, Kemerovo, Lipetsk, Nizhny Novgorod, Orenburg, Rostov, Ryazan, Sverdlovsk, Tambov, Tver, Tomsk, Tula, Ulyanovsk, Kherson, Chelyabinsk, and Yaroslavl regions.