Police seized 227 firearms, thousands of rounds of ammunition and several kilograms of explosives at airports around Russia in 2011, a spokesperson for the Russian transport police said on Monday.
Russia has tightened security measures at airports and railway stations following a terrorist attack at the Domodedovo airport near Moscow in January 2011 which killed 37 and injured 120 people.
“During passenger preflight checks at Russian airports last year, transport police seized five kilograms of explosives, 227 firearms, more than 1,100 knives and over 78,500 rounds of ammunition,” Yelena Kolomeytseva said.
The Russian government allocated over 1.5 billion rubles ($5 mln) last year on improving security at transportation facilities around the country.
Part of the funds has been spent on the purchase of advanced video-monitoring equipment and metal detectors.
The new equipment helped police track and arrest wanted 159 criminals and prevented 165 attempts to carry highly flammable materials onto aircraft last year, Kolomeytseva said.
