On November 8, Vitebsk /Sergey Kochetov - BELTA/. About 230 units of weapons were seized and removed from illegal circulation by police officers of the Vitebsk region during the main stage of the comprehensive special operation "Arsenal" from October 31 to November 4. This was announced to journalists today by Senior Inspector of the Department of Law and Order Protection and Prevention of the Internal Affairs Directorate of the Regional Executive Committee Sergey Golynya, BELTA correspondent reports. Among the items removed from illegal circulation are almost 100 units of unregistered weapons, including almost 80 units voluntarily surrendered by citizens, as well as about one thousand rounds of ammunition and explosive devices. Primarily, these are smooth-bore weapons inherited from deceased relatives, and weapons from the Great Patriotic War era, unearthed in areas of combat operations within the region. For instance, a resident of the Orsha district voluntarily handed over a PPSh submachine gun to law enforcement officers, which is in working condition and shows no visible signs of corrosion. In the Tolochin district, a local resident gave police officers a Nagant revolver in good condition. Twenty-five criminal cases have been initiated under Article 295 of the Criminal Code of Belarus for illegal actions related to weapons, ammunition, and explosives. In addition, almost 100 citizens have been punished administratively for violating weapon circulation rules. -0-

BELTA