Re: Not surprising
So credit cards are fine for small arms them
Oh, credit cards are fine for everything. Just do not expect to have any credit left on it by the time you get back to wherever you have decided to spend the night. So those small arms may end up being a bit on the expensive side.
Jokes aside. This is from 15 years back, but trust me around those parts nothing has changed (it may have only gone worse).
After the collapse of the trade in the ex-Soviet block lots of enterprising individuals started doing "blockade runs" and ferry "goods of interest" like technical literature, spare parts, etc from Russia to the ex-soviet block. A person I know (and used to buy books from 15+ years ago) was driving his van with a load books somewhere around South Ukraine/Moldova towards the border. A guy comes out on the road with an AK47. He stops. The gunman says "20 bucks". Well, you pay up your road toll if you want to live.
Next run, the blockade runner (who is an ex-army nuthead) stashes a handgun in the van, prepares the gun before entering the "interesting area". 20 km from the border a man comes out on the road again. This time with a Strela-2 launcher. The fact that it is AA does not matter, if it is fired at you from point blank range you are dead. The guy says "60 bucks". Our man grudgingly pays. The man with the Strela gives him the missile and says "Thank you, pleasure doing business with you". At this point instead of getting rid of the launcher he stashed it in a hidden compartment in the van.
You probably do not believe me at that point. Well, I did not believe him either until 3 years later he was arrested for being drunk and disorderly and threatening his mother in-law with a Strela-2 in an apartment block. That was on the news at the time, so the article can be found if you search for it (I cannot be arsed).
Biting the hand that feeds IT
