Two persons detained in Abkhazia in case of hiding with weapons

Staff members of the State Security Service have discovered a hiding with weapons, ammunition, and explosive substances in the Abkhaz village bordering with Georgia.

Two residents of the Gali District are suspected of illicit trafficking in arms and ammunition. This has been reported today by an official from press service of the State Security Service (SSS) of Abkhazia.

The official has reported that on June 21, in the village of Bchara (Pichora) in the Gali District, one kilometre from the building of the local administration, staff members of the Abkhazian SSS together with border guards of the Russian FSB found a hiding with weapons, ammunition, and explosive substances.

According to the operational information of the Abkhazian SSS, the hiding was arranged by members of the Georgian sabotage and reconnaissance groups led by Dato Shengeliya and Bakur Buliskeriya.

Dato Shengeliya is a commander of the "Forest Brothers", an illegal armed formation (IAF), which continued combat actions after the withdrawal of the Georgian troops from Abkhazia. In January 2004, the unit was disbanded, and on February 4, 2004, a lot of members of the grouping were arrested by the Georgian police on the charges of kidnapping, killings, and smuggling. Dato Shengeliya spent in prison 7 years from his sentence of 24 years of imprisonment, and he was released for health reasons. The Abkhaz side expressed its particular concern about the release from prison of Dato Shengeliya, who was involved in the commission of numerous crimes in the territory of Abkhazia.

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.