During the recent conflict with Turkey, the Border Service of the RA Ministry of Defense received operational data indicating that Armenia had imported a significant amount of environmental pollutants from three international organizations. In response, various departments within the Border Service and customs officers at Zvartnots airport carried out thorough monitoring of international humanitarian cargo being transported from the United States to Armenia by “Global Shipping” LLC. During this monitoring, two cylindrical elements containing hafnium-oxyde, which is a radioactive type, weighing 1195 grams, were found.

According to the Border Service, additional operational measures were taken by the Operational Department of the Border Service in order to monitor the conflict with Turkey more effectively. As a result, two more international humanitarian shipments with the same hafnium-oxyde cylinders, weighing 105 grams, were detected. These findings led to the identification of four targeted Sanctioned Organizations.

In response to these discoveries, the Operational Department of the Border Service, the National Security Service, the Border Department of the NSS, and the Customs Committee have implemented strict control and monitoring measures to detect similar individuals or organizations within Armenia. The market value of the detected radioactive sources is estimated to be around 70 million drams.

In accordance with Article 399 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Armenia, a pre-investigation check has been initiated to investigate the potential acts of nuclear and radiation terrorism, taking into consideration the serious nature of these offenses.