YEREVAN. March 24 (Interfax) - The illegally acquired Igla MANPADS was planned to be used for blowing up a helicopter with high-ranking Armenian officials aboard, the newspaper Haykakan Zhamanak said in a report.
"According to the information circulating in the political and law enforcement communities, the Armenian National Security Service had certain records of negotiations conducted by former commander of the unrecognized Nagorno-Karabakh Republic's Defense Army Samvel Babayan on buying an Igla MANPADS and on delivering it to Armenia," the newspaper said.
The MANPADS was intended for blowing up a helicopter carrying high-ranking officials, among them Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan, the newspaper said, referencing the National Security Service.
Former commander of the NKR Defense Army Babayan was detained in Yerevan on Wednesday in a criminal inquiry opened on the counts of Igla MANPADS contraband from Georgia to Armenia.