“Thief-in-law” Armen Kazaryan Detained in Erevan

On April 7 Mafia boss Armen Kazaryan, 44, known as Pzo in criminal spheres, was detained in Erevan, upon arrival from the USA.

Former prisoner Armen Kazaryan, born in Erevan, was crowned in 1991 in Rostov-na-Donu in the presence of such mafia bosses as Kirpich (Russian for “Brick”) and Artyusha, as the Prime Crime News Agency reports. Upon current data, Pzo is considered to be the leader of organized criminal group which is involved in illegal guns, gems and rare-earth metals sale as well as drug business, kidnapping and racketeering.

Two Armenian “thieves-in-law” Abo and Leva were killed on the federal road Rostov-Moscow in December 1993. Armen Kazaryan was a suspect in this case however he managed to escape any punishment as well as in the case of detain in Moscow, same year, when he was a suspect in a group assault related to robbery. In 1995 Pzo himself appeared to be just one millimeter from death when criminal authority Ishkhan Sarkisyan (who had taken part in crowning of Kazaryan) was shot from sniper rifle.

In the beginning of 1998 Armen Kazaryan moved to the USA trying to escape revenge of deceived Dagestan Organized Criminal Groups’ leaders. Pzo received permit for residence in the USA without any problems and bought some property in Los Angeles. In autumn 1999 Armen Kazaryan came back to his country after some conflict in a casino. Once appeared in Erevan he and his friend Armen Manukyan, also “thief-in-law”, known as Seva, were immediately detained as suspects for illegal gun keeping. Though the case was stopped in a week due to insufficient evidence.

But this time Armenian Police are strongly determined to bring Kazaryan to court notwithstanding broad corruption relations of the latter. However, Armenian mass media, already foretasting approaching end of the conflict, has mentioned Kazaryan’s friendship with brother of Armenian President, Sashik Sargsyan, who had also settled in the USA.