Armed Robbery by Fake Police at Yerevan Hotel Solved

On October 10 at 4:40 AM, an alert was received at the Police Operational Management Center that masked individuals had entered various rooms of a hotel on Keru Street in Yerevan, where foreign citizens reside on a rental basis. The details were provided by the Ministry of Internal Affairs. An operational group from the Yerevan City Department of the Criminal Police promptly went to Keru Street.

"We found out that around 4:20 AM, unknown persons, wearing police uniforms and masks, entered various rooms of the hotel, and under the threat of a weapon, tying up some of them, stole mobile phones and money and fled," presents senior criminal police officer Davit Babinyan.

A criminal proceeding was initiated in the investigative department of the Arabkir administrative district on the grounds of robbery with illegal entry into a dwelling.

Employees of the department for combating crimes against property of the Yerevan City Department of the Criminal Police found four mobile phones, a pneumatic pistol, masks, and gloves in the area adjacent to the scene.

"We assumed that the perpetrators had intentionally thrown away the masks and gloves while fleeing, and that some of the stolen mobile phones and the pistol had fallen under circumstances beyond their control, as the escape route was a steep descent," Davit Babinyan details.

Further operational-intelligence measures were taken with the officers of the General Department of Criminal Police. It turned out that one of the nine men who committed the robbery was a 41-year-old resident of Frik Street in the capital, and the others were foreigners.

Thanks to a subsequent joint operation, on the evening of October 10, the Yerevan resident was found and arrested. The next morning, 38-year-old foreigners of the same age were also arrested.

"To find the other foreigners who committed the crime, we cooperated with the officers of the Syunik regional department of the Criminal Police. On October 11, around 6:30 AM, four of them were found at the Meghri checkpoint. Measures are continuing to find two more persons involved in the crime," Davit Babinyan presents the further actions of the criminal police.

The arrested persons were presented to the preliminary investigation body. During their searches, stolen items were found: tablets, mobile phones, and money, the Police report, adding that measures are being taken to clarify all the circumstances of the case.