One year six months of restriction of liberty with a fine for illegal actions concerning ammunition and explosives

       The prosecution of the Miory District supported the state prosecution in a criminal case against a 77-year-old resident of the Miory District – he is charged with illegal acquisition and possession of ammunition and explosives.

         It was established that the accused, in the period from 1990 to August 22, 2024, illegally acquired in an unspecified location, and then illegally stored in his household, 198 rimfire rifle cartridges, as well as 160.54 g, 198.16 g, 102.64 g of smokeless powder, 403.89 g of black powder, 332.07 g of a mixture of smokeless and black powder, which, according to the conclusions of ballistic and explosive examinations, are suitable for firing and explosion, respectively.

         The accused stored the specified cartridges and powder in the attic of his house at his place of residence until they were discovered and seized by law enforcement officers.

         In the court hearing, the accused did not dispute the fact of finding cartridges and powder in the attic of his house, their quantity, as well as the fact of their storage until the moment of seizure during the search, as he had forgotten about their presence, but believed that the specified ammunition and explosives were acquired and stored legally, as he was a member of a military hunting society.

However, the accused had not been a hunter since 1993 and had never had permission from the internal affairs bodies to carry hunting weapons, which contradicts the requirements of the legislation in force that the sale of hunting powder and loaded hunting cartridges is carried out to hunters upon presentation of a hunting license with paid membership fees and with the permission of the internal affairs bodies to store hunting weapons.

Taking into account the evidence presented by the state prosecutor, the Miory District Court rendered a guilty verdict. Based on Part 2 of Article 295 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Belarus, the accused was sentenced to restriction of liberty without direction to an open-type correctional institution for a term of one year and six months with a fine of 30 basic units, which amounts to 1260 rubles.

The sentence has entered into legal force.