Russian security forces smash major arms trafficking network in coordinated raid

In one of the largest crackdowns of its kind, the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB), in joint operations with the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the National Guard (Rosgvardiya), has dismantled a sprawling illegal arms trafficking network operating across 51 regions of the Russian Federation.

The campaign, conducted between May and June 2025, uncovered an illicit ecosystem involving 157 individuals and 62 clandestine weapons workshops, Caliber.Az reports, citing Russian media.

According to the FSB's Public Relations Center, those apprehended were engaged in the illegal circulation of weaponry, including the restoration of the combat functionality of civilian firearms in underground facilities, and their subsequent distribution.

“In May–June 2025, the illegal activities of 157 residents from 51 regions of the country were suppressed. They were involved in the unlawful circulation of weapons and the restoration of the combat properties of civilian firearms in underground workshops, as well as their sale,” the FSB reported.

The scale of the seizure is unprecedented in recent years. Law enforcement confiscated 268 firearms of both Russian and foreign origin, including 4 machine guns, 25 automatic rifles, 11 submachine guns, 94 pistols and revolvers, and 134 rifles, carbines, and shotguns. Additionally, the cache included two grenade launchers, 21 artillery shells, 92 hand grenades, 16 electric detonators, over 140 kilograms of high explosives, and more than 34,000 rounds of ammunition of varying calibers.

Authorities also dismantled 62 underground workshops, which had been used to upgrade weapons and manufacture ammunition. These covert facilities posed a serious threat to public safety, with their operators possessing the technical expertise to restore and convert non-combat weapons into deadly instruments.

By Vafa Guliyeva