227 guns seized at Russian airports in 2011

January 24th, 2012 - 3:04 am ICT by IANS  

Moscow, Jan 24 (IANS/RIA Novosti) A total of 227 firearms, thousands of rounds of ammunition and several kilograms of explosives were seized at airports across Russia last year, a police spokesperson said.

Russia tightened security measures at airports and railway stations following a terror attack at the Domodedovo airport near Moscow in January 2011 which killed 37 and injured 120 people.

“During passenger pre-flight checks at Russian airports last year, transport police seized five kg of explosives, 227 firearms, more than 1,100 knives and over 78,500 rounds of ammunition,” said Yelena Kolomeytseva, spokesperson for the Russian transport police.

The Russian government allocated over 1.5 billion rubles ($5 million) last year on improving security at transportation facilities around the country.

Part of the funds has been spent on the purchase of advanced video-monitoring equipment and metal detectors.

The new equipment helped police track and arrest at least 159 wanted criminals and prevent 165 attempts to carry highly inflammable materials onto aircraft last year, Kolomeytseva said.

–IANS/RIA Novosti
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