YEREVAN. – The sources of Armenian News-NEWS.am have informed that the number of people arrested—in Armenia’s capital city of Yerevan—on suspicion of plotting major crimes has reached 23.

We have learned that all detained members of the respective armed gang have been placed under arrest.

The decision on arresting two members of this gang was made on Monday, whereas the other 21 members were placed under arrest on November 27.

On November 25, the National Security Service (NSS) of Armenia rendered ineffective, in Yerevan, a criminal gang that is suspected of plotting grave crimes.

According to the NSS press service, they received an operative information, according to which Armenian citizen Artur Vardanyan (born in 1981), who lived in Spain since 1997 and who temporarily resides in Armenia since 2015, had set up and led a criminal gang with the objective of committing serious crimes.

To implement the aforementioned objective, the gang had unlawfully acquired a large quantity of weapons and ammunition, which were hidden in a house that was rented in Yerevan.

During the NSS search that was conducted at the house—and jointly with the police—automatic rifles, pistols, grenade launchers, grenades, explosives and explosive devices, communications equipment, and several other types of ammunition were found, and all gang members were detained.

A criminal case was launched into this incident, and a respective investigation is in progress.