The Vehicle of the President of Artsakh Seized in Drug Trafficking Case

The vehicle of Artsakh President Samvel Shahramanyan has been seized in the context of an illegal drug trafficking case. This information has been reported by the Investigative Committee of Armenia in response to a written inquiry from Sputnik Armenia.

On June 21, special forces from the Armenian Ministry of Internal Affairs broke the gates of the Artsakh representation in Armenia and removed the vehicle serving President Samvel Shahramanyan using special equipment. The investigator informed journalists that the actions were being conducted within the framework of a criminal case, but did not provide further details, stating that it was a pre-investigative secret.

According to the statement from the Investigative Committee of Armenia, “The vehicle, a ‘Toyota Camry 2.5’ with license plate number 004 UU 90, belonging to the ‘Office of the President of the Republic of Artsakh’ has been seized under criminal case number 13-0238-24 initiated in the second investigative department of the Central and Norq-Marash administrative districts based on Article 393, Part 1, and Article 396, Part 1 of the Criminal Code of Armenia (both articles relate to drug trafficking). The vehicle has been moved to a specially secured area of the same department.”

It is worth noting that in February 2024, law enforcement agencies had arrested Artsakh President Samvel Shahramanyan's bodyguard, Ashot Danielyan, for two days. He was suspected of drug possession and distribution, but was released without any charges after 60 hours.