The number of artifacts with high destructive power that disappeared from Army barracks this year broke a worrying record: the Force recorded 48 incidents of weapons or ammunition diversion until October, an average of almost five per month. The number is already the highest in the last ten years and shows that the theft of 21 machine guns from the Army War Arsenal in Barueri, Greater São Paulo, in October was not an isolated case. The data was obtained by GLOBO, through the Access to Information Law.
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Numbers
The arsenal robbed or stolen from barracks in 2023 amounts to at least 460 ammunition, three pistols, 21 machine guns and two rifles. The records are spread across seven of the country’s 12 military regions. The largest quantity was taken in São Paulo.
The data also shows that more than 26,400 pieces of ammunition were stolen from military installations in the last ten years, making it the most lost military material in the Forces. Among the weapons, the majority are large caliber ones, such as rifles, machine guns and shotguns, which have restricted use by security forces.
Punished Cases
Among the cases punished is that of Lieutenant Colonel Alexandre de Almeida, arrested in 2019 after being accused of embezzling weapons from the Controlled Products Inspection Service of the 1st Military Region, in Rio de Janeiro. The soldier was the head of the unit that supervises the import and sale of the arsenal, used in the state and in Espírito Santo. According to the investigation, the scheme consisted of selling old weapons, which would therefore be discarded. A shooting club owner confirmed to the Civil Police that he had received 110 weapons from the sector commanded by the lieutenant colonel. For the shipment, he paid R$90,000.
In 2020, the Military Court also confirmed the conviction of a former Army agent to 11 years and 3 months in prison for the crime of weapons theft. He was accused of diverting three rifles 7.62 and .50 caliber ammunition from the 7th Field Artillery Group, in Olinda (PE) to drug traffickers. The investigation into the case concluded that, as controller of the weapons that entered and left the barracks, he entered a smaller number of weapons into the system in order to divert them.
Large Caliber
Large-caliber weapons, which have greater firepower, are the favorite targets for robbery and theft from Army arsenals. Of the 67 weapons diverted from barracks since 2013, 40 were machine guns, rifles and shotguns, representing almost 60% of the total.
This year, 23 of the 26 weapons diverted were machine guns or rifles (21 machine guns and 2 rifles). In ten years, the Army only recorded no robberies or thefts of large-caliber weapons in 2020, when only one pistol was stolen.
The case of theft from the Arsenal de Guerra in Barueri is an example of this preference. Among the 21 weapons stolen from the site, 13 were .50 caliber machine guns, capable of shooting down planes and helicopters, and eight were 7.62 caliber machine guns, also with anti-aircraft power.
They Did Not Answer
Neither the Navy nor the Air Force responded to requests for data on theft and theft of weapons and ammunition on their installations.
Analysis:
Experts point out that the Army’s selection process ends up allowing the entry of young people who are not committed to the Force’s discipline, which represents a vulnerability. They undergo mandatory service, receive minimal military training, know a little more about the structures and this can, in a way, generate a set of vulnerabilities, precisely because they get to know how it works. After not engaging, they can take this information further or carry out the robberies and thefts themselves. Thefts and robberies in Armed Forces arsenals are also one of the major sources of weapons supply for organized crime. The lack of control over Army warehouses generates these incidents that fuel drug trafficking and militias arsenal.
Source: O Globo
