Increase in Smuggling Cases via Drones, Says Deputy Director of NSS

On May 7, the parliament discussed for the first time the package of bills authored by the Government regarding amendments to the 'Law on State Border' and 'Amendments to the Code of Administrative Offenses.'

According to Stepan Melkonyan, Deputy Director of the National Security Service (NSS), during a meeting held in February 2020 at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Armenia, representatives of the Russian Federal Security Service's Border Guard Division, stationed in our country, raised concerns that the filming by residents or tourists near the state border of Armenia using aerial photography and drones could have a negative impact on the protection of Armenia's state border.

The presenter noted that there has been an increase in cases of smuggling carried out via drones. Similar regulations exist in several CIS countries, notably Russia and Belarus.

It is proposed to prohibit individuals entering the border area from using drones without the appropriate permits, taking photographs of the territory of neighboring countries, and capturing images of engineering structures, barriers, and buildings used by border troops, as well as observation posts and vehicles.

Persons committing such violations will be fined the amount equal to a hundred times the minimum wage, instead of the previous fine of fifty times the minimum wage.

The positive conclusion of the parliamentary permanent commission on defense and security was presented by committee member Hayk Konjoryan.