Mykolaiv man avoids jail for possession of arsenal

In Mykolaiv, the director of a maritime company turned his home into a secret arsenal with dozens of assault rifles, grenade launchers, and thousands of rounds of ammunition. The court found him guilty of illegal possession of weapons.

This is evidenced by the verdict of the Central District Court of Mykolaiv.

According to the investigation, in the fall of 2023, the director of the maritime company Transas Ukraine LLC intentionally and without any permits purchased a significant amount of combat firearms, ammunition and explosives. We are talking about dozens of Kalashnikov assault rifles of various modifications, handguns, GP-25 under-barrel grenade launchers, RPG-7V and RPG-22 anti-tank grenade launchers, as well as F-1, RGO, RGD-5 grenade cases with fuses. In addition, thousands of live rounds of various calibers were found on the man's person.

According to the case, after purchasing the entire arsenal, the director of the company kept it at his home. On October 3, 2023, law enforcement officers searched his apartment. During the investigation, the police seized all the assault rifles, machine guns, grenade launchers, grenades and ammunition they found. Experts confirmed that the seized weapons were industrially manufactured, suitable for firing and fully complied with military models.

The man was detained immediately after the search. A custody with the possibility of bail in the amount of UAH 134.2 thousand was chosen as a measure of restraint. The bail was paid, and the suspect was released from the pre-trial detention center.

At the trial, the defendant fully admitted his guilt, confirmed that he had illegally purchased and stored the arsenal, and stated that he was sincerely sorry. The court took into account that the man had no previous convictions, was positively characterized, and had letters of commendation from military units. In addition, the pre-trial report indicated a low probability of reoffending.

The court found the director guilty under part one of Article 263 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine - illegal acquisition and storage of firearms. He was sentenced to three years in prison, but was released from serving the sentence with a probationary period of one year. If he does not commit any new crimes during this time and fulfills the duties prescribed by the court, he will not be imprisoned.

Separately, the judge ruled to refund the bail bondsman 134.2 thousand hryvnias after the verdict enters into force, and to count the time of pre-trial detention - three days - as part of the possible sentence. The defendant will also be charged with more than UAH 37 thousand in expenses for conducting examinations. According to the court's decision, all the seized weapons will be transferred to the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

The court in Mykolaiv also released from punishment a serviceman who was illegally storing weapons and ammunition. During searches in his apartment and garages, law enforcement officers found explosives, grenades, assault rifles and thousands of rounds of ammunition. According to the man himself, he was accumulating weapons "for future use".

Анна Бальчінос