CHECHEN WOMEN ARRESTED ON SUSPICION OF ARMS SMUGGLING.

Russian security police claim to have discovered another channel for the smuggling of large shipments of weapons and explosives from Chechnya. On December 7, the Federal Security Service’s Anti-Terrorism Department, assisted by the Moscow Region Anti-Organized Crime Directorate, detained two women who had arrived in Moscow by train from Grozny. Police say the women were carrying 26 pistols, silencers, and ammunition. In the apartment rented by one of the women, police say they found a homemade explosive device similar to that used by terrorists in Nalchik and Voronezh. (Segodnya, December 9)

This is not the first time Chechen women have been accused of involvement in terrorism. About a year ago, two Chechen women suspected of organizing the terrorist act at the railway station in Mineralnie Vody were detained by law enforcement agencies. The results of that investigation remain unknown.

Fuel Problems Seen as Cause of Aircraft Disaster.