Portugal’s police authorities have taken in and destroyed 21,000 illegal weapons so far this year.
The haul is largely from weapons seized during police operations, with the balance coming from members of the public who have handed weapons in at police stations.
This is the fifth consecutive year that weapons have been taken in and destroyed by the authorities in an attempt to reduce the number of guns, rifles, shotguns, machine guns and knives circulating in the criminal underworld.
The action was carried out by the Public Security Police’s (PSP’s) Department of Arms and Explosives whose director said today,
"The weapon destroyed are the result of seizures made nationally by the PSP and other law enforcement authorities during criminal cases (especially violent crime), where any weapons used become the property of the state.”
The other guns that are handed in come from owners or from those who say that they have 'found them.'
Some of the more desirable weapons have been kept by the police “for reuse, police training, for museum exhibits or for resale at auction to licensed individuals,” which may be helping to perpetuate the problem.
