7 27.11.15 - Press conference of Deputy Head of the Investigation Department of the National Security Service (NSS) Mikayel Hambardzumyan Disarmed gang planned major crimes: Security Service November 27, 2015 - 15:05 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - The armed gang, neutralized in Yerevan on November 25, had no equal in the country in terms of weapons, number of people involved and cruelty, Armenia’s National Security Service official told journalists. Without going into detail, deputy chief of the NSS Investigation Department Mikayel Hambardzumyan said a preliminary investigation into the case is underway. “We are now trying to identify the financial sources,” Hambartsumyan said, adding that the armed gang had specific tasks. “Individual citizens, statesmen and political figures were among the gang’s targets; murders were also planned,” Hambartsumyan noted. Law-enforcers have detained 21 people so far. Armenian security forces arrested 10 people and claimed to have found a big weapons cache on Wednesday, November 25 during a dawn raid on a Yerevan house which they said averted a series of “particularly grave crimes.” The Armenian police and NSS described the detainees, among them four women, as members of a “criminal association” led by Artur Vartanian, a 34-year-old Armenian national who is said to have lived in Spain since 1997. Top stories David Vardanyan is the son of former Karabakh leader Ruben Vardanyan who who is currently imprisoned in Azerbaijan. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has met with Stephan Schütz, Executive Partner at Gerkan, Marg and Partners. The number of state universities will be reduced from 23 to 8 by 2030, Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sport Zhanna Andreasyan has said. From September 21 to November 11, a total of 2,820 Russians registered at a place of residence in Armenia, the police has said. Partner news | Azerbaijan extends Rune Vardanyan’s arrest by 5 months A court in Azerbaijan has extended the arrest of former Nagorno-Karabakh leader Ruben Vardanyan by five months. “Great success”: Pashinyan pleased with new border protocol Pashinyan has described the signing by Armenia and Azerbaijan of a protocol on delimitation in Tavush as “a great success”. Armenia, Azerbaijan sign protocol on demarcation coordinates Armenia’s government took on May 15 another step towards handing over four border areas to Azerbaijan. U.S. warns Georgia not to side with Moscow against the west Georgia has been warned by the U.S. not to become an adversary of the west by falling back in line with Moscow. |