On the state border of the Republic of Azerbaijan with the Republic of Armenia, from the date the Lachin state border exit point began to operate, necessary conditions have been created for the movement of vehicles belonging to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) across the state border, State Border Service released information in this regard, APA reports.
However, during the past period, the employees of the State Border Service have repeatedly discovered attempts to smuggle various types of contraband in vehicles belonging to the ICRC.
On 01.07.2023, border guards discovered and detained 15 mobile phones hidden among the undeclared hand luggage in the passenger compartment of the Reno vehicle with license plate number 35VX480, driven by Armenian citizen Hartunyan Garik (passport: AT0573343), who came to Azerbaijan from Armenia.
On 03.07.2023, 115 mobile phone screens, 10 mobile phone boards, 1 screen adhesive and, 120 power blocks for mobile phones which were hidden among the undeclared hand luggage in the cabin of the UAZ vehicle with license plate number 768UU22 driven by Armenian citizen Grigoryan Vrezhin (passport: AU040291) who came to Azerbaijan from Armenia were detected and detained by the border guards.
On 07.05.2023, 848 packs of cigarettes and 320 liters of gasoline hidden in the spare fuel tank were discovered and detained in the passenger compartment of the Iveco brand 711FF11 truck driven by Armenian citizen Harutyunyan Sasun (passport: AU0219416) who came to Azerbaijan from Armenia.
On 05.07.2023, 125 packs of cigarettes and 1000 liters of gasoline hidden in the spare fuel tank were discovered and detained in the passenger compartment of a DAF truck with license plate number 37FF609 driven by Armenian citizen Musaielian Vakif (passport: AU031091) who came to Azerbaijan from Armenia.
Although the ICRC was warned about this through official channels, the illegal acts were repeated and the necessary steps were not taken to eliminate them.
The use of medical evacuation vehicles owned by the ICRC for smuggling is not only a gross violation of the laws of the Republic of Azerbaijan, but also an abuse of the country’s trust in the ICRC, a humanitarian organization.
A criminal case was opened with the relevant articles of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Azerbaijan in connection with the facts of smuggling, and the crossing from the state border crossing point in Lachin was temporarily suspended until the necessary investigative measures were carried out.
All smuggling facts are documented with operational footage on the spot.
Source: Azeri-Press News Agency