School Guard Demands $50,000 from Company Director, Threatening to Kidnap His Children and Blow Up His House

The investigative department of Armenia’s National Security Service has initiated a criminal case under the second part of point 2 of Article 182 of the RA Criminal Code. According to photographer Gagik Shamshyan, this case has been opened against 55-year-old Yerem Galstyan, a school guard in the village of Norashen, Ararat region.

As reported by the photographer, in February of this year, Y. Galstyan attempted to extort $50,000 from his fellow villager, 42-year-old Vaghik Ghazaryan, via a letter. He wrote in the letter that if Ghazaryan did not leave the money at the specified location, he would kidnap Ghazaryan's children and then blow up his house located on Muratsan Street in the village.

According to the photographer, NSS officials have located Y. Galstyan, who was arrested by a decision of the investigator. V. Ghazaryan is the director of “AVA-EVA” LLC, which owns several trucks and, according to local residents, exports fruits from Armenia, including apricots, peaches, and apples.