VIDEO: Police Provide Updates on Recent High-Profile Kidnapping of Woman; Arrests Made

The woman kidnapped days ago has been found as a result of extensive operations conducted by law enforcement officers from the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and arrests have been made.

On September 4th, at 14:58, a caller reported to the police operational management center that two individuals dressed in uniforms affiliated with the National Security Service approached her foreign friend near a swimming pool on the Ashtarak highway and took her away in a BMW without saying anything. The caller suspected that her friend had been kidnapped since, according to her inquiries, these individuals were not employees of the National Security Service.

The report was forwarded to the Mashtots police station. The information shared by the caller was documented and sent to the investigative department. A criminal case was initiated, and police began collaborating with the Investigative Committee to uncover the crime.

Law enforcement confirmed that indeed, the individuals who took the woman in a BMW had no connection to the National Security Service, and it was established the following day that this was a kidnapping for extortion purposes.

“After kidnapping the woman, they contacted her husband via WhatsApp and Telegram using phone numbers registered with foreign mobile operators. They demanded a ransom of four million dollars to be transferred through cryptocurrency,” said Armen Abrahamyan, Deputy Head of the Cybercrime Division of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

Since telecommunications systems were used during the crime and cryptocurrency wallets were provided for receiving the ransom, the Cybercrime Division joined in on the investigation.

“By obtaining information about the mobile phone numbers, other technical devices used in the crime, including WhatsApp and Telegram communication systems, and cryptocurrency wallets, we utilized all our resources, including international cooperation. We were able to determine where and how the mobile phone numbers were acquired, when they were activated, how and from whom the cryptocurrency wallets were obtained, and transferred to the victim's family. Through the analysis of this information, we identified the individual who organized the crime,” explained Hayk Mkrtchyan, the head of the Cybercrime Division.

It was particularly revealed that the organizer, a 37-year-old man residing in Yerevan, visited the village of Voskepar in the Tavush region on the days leading up to the kidnapping—August 15, 22, 25, and 30—and shortly after the kidnapping, on September 5, he briefly left the territory of the Republic, only to return to Voskepar again on September 7. It was clarified that on August 30 and September 7, the organizer traveled to Voskepar with another member of the criminal group, a 42-year-old resident of the Kotayk region's Kanakeravan village.

It was also discovered that another participant in organizing and executing the crime, a 38-year-old man living in the Norashen neighborhood of Yerevan, illegally entered Georgia via Bagratashen on the night of September 5, where he acquired Georgian phone numbers and registered personal accounts on WhatsApp and Telegram to communicate with the kidnapped woman's husband.

“After identifying the organizer, joint operational-investigative measures with units from the Cybercrime Division and other police divisions led to the identification of other individuals involved in the crime. Shortly thereafter, we managed to reveal the address where the kidnapped woman was being held,” stated Armen Abrahamyan, Deputy Head of the Cybercrime Division.

Further thorough investigations revealed that after the kidnapping, the woman was taken to a building located at the beginning of the Voskepar-Azatmout highway.

On September 8, as a police group was heading to find the kidnapped woman, another group of policemen discovered three members of the criminal group around 5 PM on Isakov Avenue in the capital. They were transported to the police station along with another BMW vehicle. On the same day, at 19:30, a 41-year-old man from Yerevan who was holding the kidnapped woman was arrested at the building near the beginning of Voskepar village.

Also arrested in Voskepar was the 49-year-old man who was the actual director of the building, known as “Kado.” The kidnapped woman was also found in the same premises. Efforts are underway to locate another individual involved in the kidnapping, a 38-year-old man from the Norashen neighborhood of Yerevan. Investigations continue to ascertain the circumstances.