Video: Citizen's Tires Seized at Customs as Experimental Waste

A citizen of Armenia, Vilen Khachiyants, decided to return to Armenia for permanent residence after living in Moscow for eight years. However, he has encountered problems at the Armenian border checkpoint that have left him frustrated. "I have been in Armenia for just one day, but if I could, I would return at that very moment," he told Pastinfo.am.

The issue arose after Khachiyants sold part of his belongings from his home in Moscow and loaded the rest into his vehicle to make the journey back. "I thought I would return; the Prime Minister keeps saying things have changed for the better," he stated in an interview with Pastinfo. He added, "But the conditions for returnees are very poor."

After traveling 2300 km, the citizen arrived at the Gogavan checkpoint in Armenia, where he was informed that he did not have the right to bring his summer tires into the country. "I was on winter tires, and the entire way was snowy; no one warned me of any issues. In Georgia, on the Lars road, they even offered me assistance," he explained.

In addition to the four summer tires, Khachiyants had packed a bicycle and various personal belongings, including clothing and kitchenware. However, the problem only pertained to the tires, which were deemed as waste at the checkpoint. The issue, he pointed out, was handled verbally, with no expert analysis conducted on the tires, and he was not given any documentation regarding their wear and tear. "I told them that if an expert had assessed and confirmed that the tires were, for example, 70% worn out and unfit for use and provided me with a certificate to that effect, I would understand. But as it stands... Immediately upon getting out of the car, the employees approached me and said, 'This is already a problem,'" he recounted.

As a result, the tires were seized, and Vilen Khachiyants entered Armenia without them. He insisted that if he had five or six tires, they might have thought he was transporting goods for sale, but he only had four personal-use tires. "If I came with winter tires, it’s clear the summer ones are mine too, and I paid about 22,000 rubles for those four tires four years ago. Now I have to see if those brands are available here, but I doubt they will be cheaper than 50-60,000," he said.

Khachiyants also requested a document confirming the seizure of his tires from the checkpoint staff, but they refused, stating they had no such forms. "They also refused to write on a regular piece of paper, so I filmed it while I was in storage," he noted.

His footage shows that the tires appeared to be only about 25-30% worn out. He is currently in Armenia and has already reached out to the aides of legislative and executive leaders to voice his complaint. They promised to address the issue.

Video: From Pastinfo.