2023-10-20 17:02:00
The Brazilian Army has identified three soldiers suspected of participating in the theft of 21 machine guns at the São Paulo War Arsenal, in Barueri, in the metropolitan region of São Paulo, and is investigating whether the trio was recruited by criminal factions for the diversion of weapons.
According to the officers who are following the investigation, the main suspicion is that the weapons were stolen during the Independence Day holiday, September 7, when the barracks was empty.
This Thursday (19), the Civil Police of Rio de Janeiro found, of the 21 weapons that had been diverted, four .50 caliber machine guns and four 7.62 caliber rifles. The weapons were in the Gardênia Azul neighborhood, in the western part of Rio, an area of operation of a narco-militia linked to the Red Command.
In a statement, the Southeast Military Command stated that the director of the War Arsenal, Lieutenant Colonel Rivelino Barata de Sousa Batista, will be removed from his position. He had held the position since March.
The progress of the investigations occurred after the Civil Police of Rio de Janeiro sent the Army a video that was circulating on social networks with images of four heavy-caliber machine guns that were offered to the Red Command. Internally, the officers participating in the investigation recognized the possibility that they were the weapons stolen from the barracks.
When fully operational, the .50 caliber weapons are capable of shooting down helicopters, a tactic commonly used in communities linked to the Comando Vermelho organization, as occurred earlier this month. The rest are targeted for robberies of armored vehicles, in ground combat operations.
Translated by AZAHARA MARTÍN ORTEGA
#Brazilian #army #identifies #soldiers #suspected #stealing #weapons #Brazil