The security forces seized 757 firearms during raids on underground gunsmiths in 50 regions of Russia, as well as in the Crimea and the occupied territories. This is reported by RIA Novosti with reference to the press service of the FSB.
«Illegal activities of 217 residents from 53 regions of the country involved in the restoration of combat properties of civilian weapons in underground workshops and their sale were suppressed,» — The agency said in a statement.
As the FSB specified, searches took place, including in Moscow, St. Petersburg, North Ossetia, in the regions from Transbaikalia to the Omsk region, in the annexed Crimea and in the territories occupied by the Russian military. The security forces seized machine guns, pistols, revolvers, grenade launchers, hundreds of artillery shells, grenades, tens of kilograms of explosives. Weapons of both domestic and foreign production were found.
As a result, 84 underground workshops for the modernization of weapons and the manufacture of ammunition were closed, according to the department.