Summary
The discovery of a large theft of weapons of war from the Army’s arsenal last October marked country’s criminal history, but above all, highlighted the mismanagement of stocks in the arsenals of the country’s armed forces and highlighted one of the ways criminals in Brazil are creating a powerful arsenal. Investigations indicate that the stolen weapons were sold to at least one of the main criminal factions in the country, which also uses of other approaches for obtaining arms and ammunition, such as smuggling from neighboring countries, and strawmen to legally acquire weapons. The wide access to heavy weaponry by criminals gives organized crime in Brazil a capacity of damage and to disrupt society threatening the state of law and order. Repressive strategies by the legitimate powers have not yielded the desired results, allowing criminals to become even better armed in the past few years. Authorities must start investing in intelligence and technology to monitor strategic hubs through which illegal firearms circulate in order to reduce the criminals’ firepower.
The Biggest Weapons Heist from the Army
In October 2023, the Army found that it had 21 large-caliber machine guns (.50 and 7.62) stolen from its arsenal, based in Barueri, SP. This is the biggest heist suffered by the armed forces since 2010, when 18 weapons of multiple calibers were stolen from the entire national territory. The recent incident, however, represents a totally different level of severity. First, the superior numbers of firearms were obtained from a single source. Second, this source is not a simple battalion, but an important unit of the arsenal. Third, the weapons subtracted have a great firepower capable of firing an average of 600 rounds per minute, with a maximum range of 6 km, and the ability to penetrate light vehicle armor and to shoot down aircrafts.
This case is just the tip of the iceberg of a much bigger issue. It allowed the investigators to uncover the catastrophic management of the arsenals, since the theft of the machine guns was not recorded, verified and declared until 40 days after the fact. Indeed, it was established that the theft would have taken place during the national holiday, September 7, but was only discovered on October 10, when the armorer on duty had decided to recount the stocks after noticing that the lock had been changed for no apparent reason.
However, after almost 2 months of investigations by a joint action of investigators from various federal and state agencies, and despite the arrest of several military and gang members, there are still to date two .50 caliber machine guns to be found.
Even though the army has declared that these weapons were not operational, since they were defective and destined for destruction, the fact remains that the institution has been ineffective in the management of its stockpiles. For example, a study published by the newspaper O Globo and the NGO “Instituto Sou Da Paz” in 2021, established that, between 2010 and 2020, more than 140 batches of ammunition (some of which consisted of millions of cartridges) were diverted from their destination and were involved in more than twenty cases, as well as more than 80 deaths, in several states of the country.
In any case, the various police institutions were able to trace the different routes and identify the different recipients of most of these war materials. But the task is arduous, and the real resources provided by the government are limited, thus many similar cases may never have a solution. In addition, while authorities struggle to control their own arsenal, criminals have developed many other ways to obtain firearms in small and big cities across the country.
Funneling Weapons Into the Hands of Gangs
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Criminals manage to obtain weapons through several ways. Stealing from public arsenals is just one of the approaches, which also include the use of traditional arms trafficking, stealing from private arsenals and of strawmen that pose as “CACs” (certificates of aptitude of Caçador, Atirador, Colecionador) to acquire firearms.
In the case of traditional arms trafficking, gangsters obtain their supplies mainly through networks based abroad and benefit from the complicity of people infiltrated in state institutions when goods must transit through ports and airports. The main sources of weapons are normally Armed Forces from Latin America, East Europe, Israel, and the United Sates and every country in war or that suffered a war in the recent past. For instance, in 2017, police discovered 60 automatic rifles that were imported by plane to Rio’s International Airport (GIG) hidden inside swimming pool heating units. Weapons are often purchased legally and then diverted to the illegal market.
Big Scheme
On 5 December, one of the biggest and most recent cases of weapons trafficking was revealed by Federal Police (PF) operation nicknamed “Dakovo”. The agents carried out a series of actions to arrest smugglers, in Paraguay, in Brazil and in the US, who would be responsible for providing around 43,000 firearms to the two biggest gangs in Brazil, the Red Command (CV) and the First Capital Command (PCC).
According to police sources, deals closed by the group in the past three years would value R$ 1.2 billion. Weapons were acquired in countries such as Croatia, Turkey, the Czech Republic and Slovenia, and sold to Brazilian criminals. However, before being passed on to the main Brazilian criminal factions, the items passed through Paraguay, where they had their numbers shaved off and even received logos from other industries in order to mislead investigators.
The entire scheme was headed by an official business located in Assunção in Paraguay and owned by an Argentinian, Diego Hernán Dirísio, who is on the run.
Paraguay is often used for this type of criminal activity because it has a commercial agreement with Brazil that created an import and export corridor through which containers do not undergo thorough inspection. All containers go only through a small control, and 98% of cargo goes straight without any inspection.
Even though Brazilians cannot buy weapons in large quantities in Paraguay, there are several strawmen up to the task who purchase the items for reselling to criminal groups in Brazil.
The market is extremely lucrative. For instance, to assemble a rifle, a smuggler will spend around US$600, or R$3,600, and resell it to a gang for up to R$60,000.
Since 2017, several measures implemented by authorities relaxed restrictions to the acquisition, use and transports of firearms by civilians. Criminals saw in this another great opportunity and those without any criminal record started to apply to become a “CAC” (acronym in Portuguese that means Hunters, Shooters and Collectors), a group which has the right, under certain conditions, to possess weapons and ammunition in their homes and use them in some activities. Licenses were then used to acquire weapons and ammunition that would be later sold for a profit to organized crime.
Private arsenals, which include weapons stored in security companies, in shooting clubs, in homes, in stores and more, are another source of firearms for the criminal groups. According to data provided by the Federal Police (PF) and disclosed by the news agency Fiquem Sabendo, there were 3,603 security companies operating in Brazil in 2021. Data from the 2023 Brazil Public Security Yearbook show that this number rose to 4,804, in 2022. In 2021, with a number of private security companies 33% smaller, there were 246,511 firearms in the companies’ arsenals. From 2017 until 24 August 2021, 12,555 firearms were “lost” from these arsenals.
Criminals can also target the weapons in the hands of the civilian population, which represent 2.300.178 firearms, according to data from the 2023 Brazil Public Security Yearbook. The number of weapons stolen, diverted or lost belonging to CACs increased by 35.9% in 2021 compared to 2020, according to data from the Army. From 2018 onwards, the number of firearms subtracted kept falling, however, in 2020 this trend was reversed, and it jumped from 498, in 2020, to 677, in 2021. The number is even greater when data from shooting clubs are added, reaching a total of 699 weapons lost or stolen in 2021.
Relaxing the Rules
According to a survey by the Sou da Paz Institute released in October 2022, the relaxation of gun ownership and carrying rules in Brazil had a direct consequence on crimes committed at gunpoint. The relaxation of the rules for a civilian to acquire a weapon began in 2017 and intensified by 2019. Therefore, the origin of the firearms that are most frequently seized by police — pistols used in robberies and murders — is mainly available in the legal market.
The work also indicated that the arsenal of criminals has become more modern and powerful. The work was developed based on the study of weapons seized by the police forces between 2017 and 2022. In this period, the share of rifles among the weapons seized jumped 50% in São Paulo and 16% in Rio de Janeiro. The proportion of pistols increased by 31% in São Paulo and 32% in Rio. The study used these two states due to their relevance in the criminal scenario. Together, they account for 17% of firearm seizures in the country, in addition to being places of origin for factions with national and international expression.
However, when it comes to rifles and machine guns, and more powerful firearms, the most important method of acquisition is through contraband, even though some of them are obtained through the legal market.
The changes in the categories of arms circulating resulted in a rapid change in the profile of the arsenal in the hands of criminals, which represents higher risks for law enforcement forces and the population in general. The consequences of a crime involving a semi-automatic pistol are much more serious than those involving a 38-caliber revolver, since more bullets can be fired, and the arms are more difficult to be dominated by the shooter. Likewise, an automatic rifle is deadlier since it can fire more bullets than a handgun and on top of that have a very high penetration capacity. Thus, the chances of death are greater, and this type of weapon leads to more victims of stray bullets, because it has greater range.
Consequences
The large number of weapons in the hands of gangs poses a clear and direct risk to society as a whole. The better equipped criminals are, the more able they are to impose violent control over territories, to commit crimes and do all of that with higher destructive potential. All of this with collateral damages.
Most armed clashes occur in the middle of densely populated areas. Criminals have almost no training and police officers operate under great pressure and tension in a location with many people living and circulating. These aspects significantly increase the risk of stray bullets, if only the locations of the gang-controlled areas and the average maximum range of rifles (approx. 3,5 Km) were taken into consideration.
| Range | Automatic Rifle – FN FAL – Caliber 7.62 | Auto. Rifle – M16A2/M16A3 – Caliber 5.56 |
| Maximum effective range (average) | 600 m | 550 m (individual/point targets) 800 m (area targets) |
| Maximum range (average) | 3,800 m | 3,600 m |
The risk for people moving around gang infested cities does not stop here. Major streets, highways, express roads are constantly harassed by cargo and car robberies. Moreover, shootouts in some neighborhoods can force the closure of streets or the interruption of public transport services.
For this reason, many people consider the distance and view of an accommodation to be acquired or rented in relation to the territories controlled by criminal gangs. This factor is also being observed by businesses, particularly foreign companies that hire accommodations for expatriates and missionaries – apartment, house, hotel room, offices and industrial plants.
For businesses, the security context also means extra costs with logistics of equipment and people. Sometimes, depending on the streets used it becomes necessary to hire bullet-proof vehicles tracked by GPS and drivers trained in security procedures. Besides, there is also the need to invest in enhanced security measures, additional insurance, or specific security protocols to protect their employees and property.
Expectations
The proliferation and lack of control over the circulation of arms and ammunition of all types and calibers in Brazil is a serious issue. Organized crime is present in almost every country in the world, however, armed confrontations, particularly in such level of violence, are only seen in a few nations that are not in war, like Brazil, Mexico, Colombia and a few others. Of course, this has pressured over the years state and federal governments to give a proper response, which, despite some improvements, has never come.
Rio de Janeiro is an excellent example of this. Police forces have been unable to really remove the gangs from the streets or to cripple their armed power. Despite thousands of weapons and drugs seized during consecutive police operations and the great efforts expended to fight the gangs, the quantities of drugs and weapons have not been enough to give them a final blow.
Throughout the years, many strategies were used to solve the security issues, including federal interventions, but without lasting success. In October and in November, more operations with the Armed Forces and the National Force supporting the local police were put into action in Rio and São Paulo. On 6 November, a Guarantee of Law and Order (GLO) operation was implemented, with military reinforcing the security of ports and airports, through which many illegal firearms, ammunitions and drugs enter the country.
Although it is positive that the federal government has focused on logistics hubs used by organized crime to import and export weapons and drugs, Cleber Lopes and Gabriel Patriota, experts respectively from Londrina State University and São Paulo University, highlight that temporary resources will not solve problems faced by federal revenue auditors, federal police agents, port guards and other professionals.
Patriota and Lopes state that customs has suffered for a long time with insufficient staff, lack of personnel and salary adjustments. The fact is that greater efficiency in port security depends mainly on greater investment in the organizations and intelligence activities that make up the network that governs the security of these spaces. At the GLO announcement ceremony, leaders promised a technological modernization plan and a National Port and Airport Security Plan, which could bring solid solutions. However, this is just a possibility for the future.
Even though contraband corresponds to a great deal of weapons in the hands of criminals, the country still faces the need to properly block other methods used by criminals to obtain firearms. The laws that regulate access to weapons for civilians were temporarily suspended and are being reviewed, with the transfer of the responsibility to inspect their use being sent to the Federal Police (PF).
Finally, the public and private arsenals, belonging to the police and Armed Forces, and to private security companies, need to tackle major issues that compromised the firearms protection while stored. The efficiency in preventing thefts and losses is strongly dependent on the efficiency of the arsenal management system. However, several police forces do not yet have electronic systems to manage their weapons and ammunition.
