Readers of Hetq and the press in Armenia are surely aware of one of the most covered stories recently making the rounds here in Yerevan – the arrests of alleged members of a criminal gang charged with breaking into the homes of past and present government officials and forcing them to turn over their valuables at gunpoint.

On September 23, the police swopped down on a Yerevan restuarant  and arrested one Artoush Hakobyan, a suspected leader of the gang. Hakobyan has had his share of run-ins with the law.

The last time his name appeared in the press was back in 2008 during the presidential elections.

On elections day, February 19, Hakobyan was reported to have visited a polling station in the Garni village in Kotayk Marz.

It seems he tried to stuff the ballot box with votes in favour of the candidate of the ruling Republican Party.

A proxy of ARF candidate Vahan Hovhannisyan stepped in to prevent Hakobyan from doing so, leading to a brawl outside the polling station between the two opposing camps.

Days later, the RA General Prosecutor launched a criminal investigation of the incident.

The outcome of the investigation has yet to be finalized.