MOSCOW, February 26 (RIA Novosti) - A criminal case was opened on Tuesday against a suspected Moscow-based arms dealer, found to be in possession of more than 100 firearms, the Interior Ministry’s Moscow branch said.
The man, who is facing “illegal arms storage” charges, could be sentenced to a maximum of four years in prison if convicted.
The weapons, seized in a police raid on an apartment in eastern Moscow on Monday, included 24 Kalashnikov assault rifles, 34 Makarov handguns, 14 TT pistols, four Nagan revolvers, a Walther and a Parabellum pistol, three machineguns, six rifles, a hand grenade and several fuses.
The suspect, a 40-year-old Muscovite whose identity has not been revealed, had set up a workshop in his apartment, repaired and modified old weapons and resold them on the “black market,” the ministry said.
According to experts, many illegal weapons in Russia are part of former Soviet arsenals or come as spoils found on World War II battlefields.
