MOSCOW. Sept 8 (Interfax-AVN) - Two people have been arrested on suspicion of involvement in the August 24 bombings aboard two Russian jetliners, the Russian Prosecutor General's Office told Interfax.
"The suspects have been arrested under a court sanction. Their involvement in the crimes is being checked," an office spokesman said, refraining from giving the suspects' names.
Meanwhile, a source close to the investigating authorities earlier told Interfax that one of those arrested is Armen Arutyunov, a Krasnodar territory resident, who was making money from profiteering on plane tickets at Moscow's Domodedovo airport.
"He has been detained for 30 days in line with the law on combating terrorism," the source said.
"The investigators have managed to determine the route by which the female terrorists came to Moscow. They flew from Makhachkala onboard flight No. 884 on August 24," the source said.
According to the investigators, an accomplice met the two women at the airport, provided them with explosives, and gave them detailed instructions on what to do next. One of those instructions was that they had to buy tickets not in a ticket office but from scalpers.
"They approached the suspect for help. He bought a ticket for Satsita Dzhebirkhanova for Siberia Airlines flight No. 1047 due to depart for Sochi at 9:25 p.m. Moscow time (1725 GMT) and for Amanty Nagayeva for Siberia Airlines flight No. 1167 due to depart for Volgograd at 9:20 p.m. Moscow time (1720 GMT). By the time the tickets were bought, check-in procedures for the flights had been over," the source said.
The man helped Dzhebirkhanova board the plane after the check-in but he failed to get Nagayeva aboard the Siberia Airlines flight to Volgograd. After that, Arutyunov exchanged her ticket for a Volga-Aviaexpress flight departing for Volgograd at 10:20 p.m. Moscow time (1820 GMT). He also helped Nagayeva pass security check.
The man said he had not known either Dzhebirkhanova or Nagayeva before but just helped the two as regular passengers for more money.
According to the source, the detainee is actively cooperating with the investigators. He has already identified Dzhebirkhanova and Nagayeva as the women he helped at the airport from their pictures.