On June 19, at 16:30, a local resident of Arpi village in the city of Yeghegnadzor reported to the Department of Emergency Situations that a driver of a “VAZ” car had paid a 5,000 dram fine for parking in a handicapped zone. The department received an operative report that their team had arrived and discovered that the passenger had returned 4,500 drams but had failed to notice the parking sign.

Representatives from the department examined the vehicle and conducted necessary procedures, quickly discovering that the traffic ticket had been issued to two young residents of Goris, both 31 years old. Working with the local government of Vayots Dzor province, they received information that the young residents had been found and detained along the Yerevan-Meghri highway’s 106th km, about an hour after the initial report. They were transferred to the Department of Emergency Situations in Yeghegnadzor, while the car was placed in a special storage unit.

During personal searches, one of the young residents was found with various denominations of paper money, including five 10,000-dram and twenty 1,000-dram notes. He admitted to having similar counterfeit bills in the car’s glove compartment. Both the young residents and the collected documents were handed over to the Vayots Dzor provincial office of the Police for further investigation.

Subsequent investigations revealed that on the same day, June 19, around 16:30, the young residents successfully used five counterfeit 10,000-dram notes to make purchases at a store called “Aghavnavadzor Market” in the village of Areni. They also attempted to use a counterfeit bill at “Rostam’s Market” but the seller noticed the discrepancy and refused the transaction.

The criminal investigation department in Yeghegnadzor also discovered that on the same day, around 16:50, the young residents successfully used five counterfeit 10,000-dram notes to buy items at a grocery store in the village of Vernerashen. Additionally, the Department of Emergency Situations in Jermuk reported that on the same day, at about 12:30, another young resident attempted to pay a 5,000 dram counterfeit bill at a grocery store but left without paying when he noticed the discrepancy after receiving the goods.

All the counterfeit bills that were collected during the investigation were seized. On June 22, an investigation was conducted in the storage unit of the Department of Emergency Situations in Yeghegnadzor, where a special area was designated to preserve the exhibits. They found a total of 15,000 counterfeit 10,000-dram notes, as well as 13,000 genuine 10,000-dram notes, 14 sets of 20,000-dram notes, and 7 sets of 30,000-dram notes in possession of the young residents.

One of the young residents claimed that some of the counterfeit bills were purchased online. It was also discovered that they had a gas lighter in their possession. The investigative department of Vayots Dzor province is currently continuing their investigation into the case.