MOSCOW. March 13 (Interfax) - Russian security forces have detained a man suspected of organizing a criminal ring making and selling weapons in various regions of Russia and seized 95 firearms, the Federal Security Service (FSB) said in a statement seen by Interfax on Wednesday.
"The FSB, acting in coordination with the Interior Ministry, has curbed the activities of a criminal ring responsible for making weapons, transforming civilian weapons into combat analogues, and selling them in various regions of the country," the statement said.
"The organizer of the criminal business and his criminal connections in 14 regions of Russia have been detained," it said.
In the course of investigative procedures at the detainees' homes and workplaces, security agencies seized 95 foreign- and domestically-made firearms and put an end to operations of five clandestine workshops specially equipped to manufacture and modernize weapons, the statement said.
The weapons seized from the ring include a submachine gun, 19 carbines and rifles, 41 pistols and revolvers, 34 improvised 'firing devices' and over 500 workpieces for manufacturing such, silencers, and over 3,500 cartridges of various caliber, it said.
Investigative units of the FSB and the Interior Ministry are set to open criminal cases on counts of illegal arms trafficking and illegal manufacturing of arms, the statement said.