Armenia's crime rates soar, driven by drug smuggling and illegal arms

Over the past five years, crime rates in Armenia have risen by an average of 11.1%, according to Armenian Interior Minister Vahe Ghazaryan.

Ghazaryan highlighted that while the overall crime rate has increased, the growth rate has slowed by 0.7 percentage points, Caliber.Az reports per Armenian media.

In 2019, crime levels rose by 8.8%, while in 2023, the increase was 8.1%. Notably, there has been a decline recorded in the first eight months of 2024.

The minister also reported a significant rise in serious crimes, with an average annual increase of 58.3% over the past five years.

In 2019, 284 serious crimes were recorded, which rose to 296 in 2020, 350 in 2021, 880 in 2022, and 1,678 in 2023. The majority of these cases involved large-scale drug smuggling and distribution.

Regarding grave crimes, the average annual increase over the past five years was 13.4%. In 2019, 4,490 grave crimes were committed, compared to 4,077 in 2020, 4,407 in 2021, 5,080 in 2022, and 6,116 in 2023. Like serious crimes, this rise is largely attributed to the increase in large-scale drug trafficking. There have also been numerous cases of illegal arms trafficking and large-scale fraud.

The annual growth in murders over the past five years averaged 12.1%, with most murders being committed in domestic settings. Attempts at murder rose by an average of 18.4% annually, while illegal arms and ammunition trafficking increased by 15.6%, hooliganism by 23.5%, and drug-related crimes by 46.6%. However, thefts decreased by an average of 10.8% during this period.

Ghazaryan reassured the public that around 83% of the crimes committed in Armenia over the past five years fall into the category of minor to medium severity, posing a lesser threat to public safety.

By Aghakazim Guliyev