Migrants were sold passports of non-existent country in St. PetersburgMarch 7, 2018 - 17:32 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Gang members from the Kingdom of ASPI, a non-existent state in the Caribbean Sea, were detained in St. Petersburg for sellingpassports and driver's licences to migrant workers for three years, Crime Russia says. All four ‘diplomats’ of the non-existent kingdom were detained during the special operation held by the interior ministry, Forpost says. The investigation established that the ringleader of the gang and his assistants printed false IDs using computer and offprints, after which they sold them for a large sum to citizens of the CIS countries who came to work in Russia. At the same time, the documents included a note on registration in the cities of Belarus. They took 15,000-100,000 rubles ($265-1770) for it. An investigation into the details of the incident is underway. The gang leader, who pretended to be a ‘consul’, was detained in his house in the village of Slavyanka. Documents (blank forms of passports, more than a hundred photographs of Asian people, equipment and prints of seals) were found there. Weapons were found in the houses of the "consulate"’s employees and confiscated. Top stories Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". The earthquake caused a temporary blackout, damaged many buildings and closed a number of rural roads. Partner news | Pashinyan, Blinken talk Armenia-U.S. ties over the phone Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan had a phone conversation with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on April 28, Pashinyan’s office reports. Titus, Bilirakis lead legislation to sanction Azerbaijani war criminals Representatives Dina Titus (D-NV) and Gus Bilirakis (R-FL) have introduced the bipartisan legislation. Armenia: Defense Ministry warns against involving army in political processes The Ministry’s statement came after a video surfaced online, showing soldiers joining the protests in Tavush. Scholz hopes Armenia-Azerbaijan peace treaty will be signed this year German Chancellor Olaf Scholz hopes that a peace treaty between Armenia and Azerbaijan will be signed this year. |