Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) said Wednesday it has busted a major weapons smuggling ring in dozens of Russian regions.
Between June and July, authorities seized thousands of firearms and artillery shells in sting operations across 53 Russian regions, including Moscow and St. Petersburg.
The listed regions cover nearly every time zone in Russia and include annexed Crimea, as well as the partially occupied Ukrainian regions of Donetsk and Luhansk.
FSB footage published by state-run news agencies showed agents carrying out raids at homes and parking lots, followed by displays of the seized weapons cache.
A detailed list of the confiscated weapons included 325 pistols, 251 rifles and shotguns, 93 automatic rifles, 58 submachine guns, 22 machine guns and 70,000 rounds of ammunition.
In addition, authorities seized seven grenade launchers, 704 artillery shells, 210 grenades, 87 kilograms of explosives and 75 electric detonators.
The FSB said it shut down the work of 84 underground weapons bunkers and detained 217 people.
Russia’s domestic intelligence agency said it was continuing to uncover activities related to the manufacture and sale of illegal firearms.