YEREVAN. - An organized criminal gang suspected of committing several serious crimes in the capital was neutralized early this morning, the spokesperson for Armenia’s Prosecutor General Sona Truzyan told Armenian News-NEWS.am.  

According to her, the police possessed secret information that the gang is planning a new crime. The criminals showed armed resistance that was suppressed and the group disarmed. A large quantity of ammunition was discovered and confiscated.

A criminal case was instituted under Article 316 (violence against a government representative) and 235 (trafficking of arms and ammunition). 13 citizens, allegedly gang members, have been detained.

According to Truzyan, rumors that sons of several high rank officials have been detained are not true. Son of Deputy Chief of the Special Investigation Service was detained later, near the building of Yerevan State University, as a result of vehicle check. A group of other people who were noticed near a vehicle presumably used by suspects was also detained.

Truzyan said the son of Special Investigation Service Deputy Chief is still in the Police.

“Investigation is underway, the results will be announced later,” said the spokesperson for Prosecutor General.

Yerevan has been actively discussing the morning police operation and neutralization of the criminal group. According to circulating rumors, sons of famous people might be implicated in it. The names of Judge Tigran Sahakyan’s son, the son of a Defense Ministry Investigation Service official and the son of Special Investigation Service Deputy Chief Marsel Matevosyan were particularly common in this discourse.

As reported earlier, the alleged gang members tried to escape on Mercedes-Benz vehicle with plate numbers of 60 OO 086 but failed and crashed into a pole. In a futile attempt to escape on foot one of them fell off a cliff and crashed. His identity is already established as 49-year-old Gurgen Hayrapetyan.

It is assumed that the criminal group is the one that recently attacked the houses of several famous people, in particular the mansion of former director of Lincy foundation programs and current vice-chairman of Yerevandorstroy LCC Eduard Bezoyan and the house of former MP Napoleon Azizyan.