RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The number is the highest ever recorded by state security forces. The previous record occurred in 2017, when 382 rifles were seized.
According to the State Police Secretariat, the mark had already been reached last September. The total number of weapons seized in 2019 was 8,400.
Last year, the seizure of rifles in São Paulo also increased. From January to November 2019, 200 such weapons were apprehended, while in the same period in 2018 there were 164.
According to the Civil Police, Rio is the city with the largest number of rifles in Brazil: from 3,000 to 3,500 of these weapons would be in the hands of criminals.