Russian customs officials foil an attempt by Armenian and Russian citizens to smuggle out 225 kg of gold

YEREVAN, August 18. /ARKA/. Customs officials at Vnukovo airport in Russian Moscow have foiled an attempt by a group of Armenian and Russian citizens to smuggle out 225 kilograms of gold (45 bars) worth about 800 million rubles to Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

The first group of three people was to fly to Yerevan with the gold bars in their carry-on baggage. The destination was not chosen randomly - Armenia is a member of the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) and its citizens are not subject to customs control.

The second group was to head to Dubai (UAE) and they passed through the customs control zone with empty suitcases pretending to be tourists.

After passing through customs and border control, the accomplices met in the neutral zone of the airport. Before boarding, they exchanged carry-on suitcases. The criminals with the valuable cargo were detained by operatives of the Vnukovo customs after boarding the plane.

All the bars had mandatory markings: serial numbers, stamps, letters and industrial assays confirming the quality of the metal.

According to the Russian Federal Customs Service, the Armenian citizens are currently detained, while Russians are under house arrest. Three criminal cases were filed under a number of articles of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation on charges of smuggling of smuggling of strategically important goods by a group of persons by prior conspiracy. --0--