Russia's customs service said Thursday it uncovered a ring of active and
retired military officers suspected of involvement in stealing millions of dollars worth of missile components and smuggling them out of Russia.
The Federal Customs Service said it has detained a dozen suspects and confiscated about 22 tons of missile components intended for smuggling.
It said in a statement Thursday that the criminal ring had smuggled parts of S-75, S-125, S-200 and S-300 air defense missile systems to Russia's ex-Soviet neighbors of Belarus, Kazakhstan and Ukraine and also to Bulgaria. The statement said the alleged criminal group had been smuggling missile parts for at least two years.
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