SRC clarifies reports of Iranian citizen's escape from detention and subsequent recapture

Armenia's State Revenue Committee (SRC) has clarified media reports that a foreign national had escaped from detention, stating that the Iranian citizen who fled had been found five days later in a joint operation by SRC and police officers.

The committee said it considers it important to provide the public with complete and reliable information about incidents, expressing regret that some media outlets had reported only partial details of the case without mentioning the results of law enforcement efforts and the subsequent recapture of the detainee.

According to the SRC, on November 3, 2026, at around 7:00 p.m., a truck operated by Iranian citizen M. M., who had arrived in Armenia from Iran, was subjected to a customs inspection. A particularly large quantity of narcotic drugs was discovered during the inspection.

The man was arrested on reasonable suspicion of drug smuggling and transferred to the Syunik Regional Investigative Department of the Investigative Committee. He was subsequently remanded in custody by court order.

On November 6, at around 10:00 p.m., he escaped while covert investigative measures were being carried out as part of the criminal proceedings.

As a result of operational and search measures undertaken by the SRC's Anti-Smuggling Department and officers of the Yerevan Police Department's Shengavit Division, the escaped detainee, Iranian citizen M. M., was found on November 11 at around 11:30 p.m.

He was transferred to the SRC's Anti-Smuggling Department and subsequently to the Nubarashen Penitentiary Institution under the Ministry of Justice, the committee said.