SLOVAK police have arrested two professional soldiers who were selling weapons and other military material.
Ján M, 25, and Peter H, 21, along with one businessman and two other men, were arrested on March 15 and are facing organised-crime charges.
In January the two soldiers sold a military Mauser rifle for Sk7,000 (170 euro) to two unknown men at a rest stop in Strečno. Two months later, on March 17, the soldiers offered various guns, bullets, and explosives for more than Sk53,000 (1,270 euro) to the two men. That time the transaction took place in central Slovakia's Polomka village. Shortly after the deal had been concluded, police arrested the culprits.
Both soldiers were based in the northern Slovak town of Žilina. The head of the local unit told the daily SME that his army base had never used the particular guns that Ján M and Peter H were selling, and he said he had no idea where they might have got the weapons.
24. Mar 2003 at 0:00 | From press reports of TASR and SITA
