RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The Rio de Janeiro State Police have pulled 451 rifles out of circulation since the beginning of the year and seized 2,735 pistols and 2,049 revolvers.
Through its profile on Twitter, the department classified the mark as historic and demonstrative of its “commitment and dedication in the fight against crime”.
According to the Undersecretariat of Intelligence of the State Police, which conducted a survey on the source of the 451 rifles seized in operations to fight criminal organizations, 94 percent of these weapons were manufactured abroad, while the other six percent are of domestic origin.
“The significant number of rifle seizures testifies to the operational ability of the state police, but also to the power of the international arms trade that supplies the criminal factions”.
Also through social media, the governor of Rio de Janeiro, Wilson Witzel, considered that there is no way to fight organized crime without “suffocating” the circulation of weapons.
“Reaching the mark of 451 rifles seized by the State Police is the certainty that we are crippling crime,” he said.
Source: Agência Brasil