Video: Individuals Who Stole From Terminals Identified

On September 17, the owner of a shop in the village of Sayat-Nova reported to the Masis police department that around 5 in the morning, unknown individuals had used technical means to open the door of the shop and steal a payment terminal. According to the owner, the damage amounted to approximately 800,000 dram, including 170,000 dram in cash that was inside the terminal.

The Masis police arrived at the scene and took appropriate measures. On the same day, the payment terminal was found damaged and empty in a field in the village of Dashtadem in the Ararat region. A criminal case was initiated.

Through joint operational and investigative actions by officers from the Ararat regional police department, as well as the Masis and Artashat divisions, information was obtained indicating that two men had committed the theft in Sayat-Nova. One of them was already wanted on charges of illegal drug trafficking.

Further investigations revealed that both men were homeless, temporarily residing in one of the hotels on Arshakunyats street in the capital. It was also determined that this was not their only theft, and they were using a bronze BMW car, for which they switched license plates with stolen ones after each crime.

On September 18, an operational group was dispatched to the hotel to apprehend the men. At 6:05 PM, in their occupied room, law enforcement officials discovered three syringes and a cigarette box filled with a strongly smelling brown substance on the table. One of the men stated that the box contained heroin for his personal use.

The bronze BMW was found in the hotel yard. The men, along with the drugs and the vehicle, were taken to the Masis police department. A search of the vehicle uncovered 270,000 dram, three plastic containers filled with liquid, a mass of white powder, tools, clothing, and mobile phones.

One of the men confessed to the aforementioned theft, revealing that from June to September of this year, they had also committed terminal thefts from shops in Nor Khardzherd, Nshavan, Vosketa, Nor Kyanq, Aknalich, and Mrgashat villages, the last of which involved two shops. In nearly all cases, they also stole cigarettes. They attempted thefts in two shops in Masis and Arevabuyr villages, but those attempts were unsuccessful. They successfully stole only cigarettes from one shop in Masis.

Along the road between Mrgevant and Jraashen villages, a payment terminal was found in a river, which the man claimed had been stolen from a shop in Nshavan. The investigation of the criminal case is ongoing.