KRASNODAR, May 28 (RIA Novosti) - A southern Russian court sentenced Wednesday five Russians, convicted of smuggling four missile systems from Abkhazia, to between eight and 11 years in prison.
In late November 2006, Federal Security Service (FSB) officers arrested five people during an operation to prevent the sale of four Strela-2M portable anti-aircraft missile systems in the southern Russian resort city of Sochi.
Investigators said the accused bought the weapons in Georgia's breakaway region of Abkhazia.
The trial started in June 2007 in a closed court.
Strela-2M is a short-range missile system similar to the U.S. FIM-43 Redeye missile complex. It features a powerful warhead and an infrared homing device. Its effectiveness depends on its ability to lock onto the heat source of low-flying fixed and rotary-wing aircraft.
