O Army reported on Tuesday (17) that the Southeast Military Command (CMSE), in Barueri, in big Sao Paulo , went from the state of readiness to on-warning. As a result, the number of soldiers “quartered” decreased to 160, around a third of the number.
Since last week, the Army has been investigating the disappearance of 21 machine guns of the war arsenal. The absence of armament there were 13 .50 caliber machine guns and eight 7.62 mm caliber machine guns. “The investigation into the case is ongoing and is under secrecy,” the CMSE said in a statement.
When the disappearance of the weapons, which were no longer useful and had been collected for maintenance, was noticed, the Army “quartered” 480 soldiers.
The term “quartered” means that members are held in the barracks, but not necessarily imprisoned, and cannot leave until they are released.
The case is not officially treated as robbery or theft by the Army. The incident was described as “a discrepancy in control” of the weapons and said it had taken all measures to investigate the case.
Despite this, the Secretary of State Security, Guilherme Derrite, calls the case a theft, when objects are taken without the use of violence.
“We at São Paulo security will spare no effort to assist in the search for weapons and avoid the catastrophic consequences that this can generate in favor of crime and against the safety of the population”, wrote Derrite on X (formerly Twitter).
The São Paulo Public Security Secretariat (SSP) regretted the theft of 13 anti-aircraft weapons from the Military Organization of the Brazilian Army, and informs that, to date, the Civil Police have not been contacted to record the incident.
VIDEO – Police investigate the theft of 21 Army machine guns
“In view of the obvious risk of developments for the safety of the population, the Civil and Military Police are making massive efforts to locate the stolen material and identify and arrest the perpetrators of the crime,” said the SSP.
The Sou da Paz Institute also spoke out about the disappearance of weapons. Bruno Langeani, Project Manager at the agency, said he did not remember any case with more weapons or with weapons as powerful as those that have now been diverted.
“A diversion of this type can only be carried out with financing from organized crime, as it requires extensive logistics. Each machine gun (.50) weighs between 45-60 kg and measures 1.70 m. We are talking about transporting more than half a ton. An action carried out by people within the Army, but designed and financed by organized crime,” he declared.
Source: CNN Brasil
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