STAVROPOL. Jan 9 (Interfax-AVN) - The Stavropol territory court has postponed the trial of ex-policemen and several civilians accused of illegal arms trade due to illness of one of the defendants, the press service of the court reported on Wednesday.
The defendants are charged with selling arms to criminal gangs. The hearings were to have been resumed after a fortnight break brought about by illness of the state prosecutor.
Among those standing trial are head of the arms and special assets storage facilities of the Interior Ministry department for the Stavropol territory Alexander Popov, inspector of the arms department Dmitry Ermolenko, inspector of logistics support of the Kislovodsk city police department Yevgeny Nielovsky, deputy head of the Izobilnaya district police department Sergei Penkin and three civilians, these being Sergei Subotta, Nikolai Konoplin and Idris Eldiev. They are all accused of criminal gang establishment, arms and munitions theft and illegal arms trade.
The defendants were apprehended in the course of a special operation staged by officers of the territory prosecutors' office and servicemen of the anti-mafia department in November 2000. The investigation that lasted for almost a year concluded that the members of the organized criminal group had been stealing arms accommodated at the Interior Ministry special artillery munitions storage facilities. The arms were subsequently sold to criminal gangs.
Examination of witnesses was completed last year, with the number of witnesses totaling 52 people. In accordance with the lawyers' request former head of the Stavropol territory police department Lieutenant General Alexander Volkodav and current deputy head of the department Major General Alexander Sysoyev were summoned to court and examined as witnesses.