Public prosecutor's office of SMO: the military are not involved in delivery of ammunition from "Ashuluk" firing range as scrap metal

Public prosecutor's office of Southern Military Okrug (SMO) has established that the servicemen did not take part in collection and delivery of shells and fragments of ammunition from "Ashuluk" firing range in Astrakhan region to a receiving center of scrap metal, Press service of SMO reported.

Earlier, the "Caucasian Knot" informed that a dangerous cargo was found in a receiving center of nonferrous materials in the suburbs of Astrakhan. Upon the results of inspection, the size of the batch made almost 30 ton.

"The personnel of Military Public prosecutor's office of SMO carried out an inspection on the fact of discovery of fragments of ammunition in the receiving center of scrap metal of Astrakhan and established that the servicemen did not take part in it", a representative of Press service of the military okrug said.

According to him, the truck in which 29 ton of scrap metal were brought from the area of "Ashuluk" firing range was a civil one, its driver is detained and the participants of the action and customer of the cargo are being established, RIA "Novosti" reports.

Representatives of Press service of Southern Federal Okrug reported that 45 residents of the neighbouring settlements had been detained by the servicemen in the area of "Ashuluk" firing range lately for illegal collection of scrap metal in the territory of the range.

"The territory of the firing range has all the necessary warnings of inadmissibility of collecting scrap metal and blasting works in process", "Interfax" quotes the source who added that the servicemen cordoned off the territory of the range only for the periods of manoeuvres or works with ammunition.