The army had 13,000 rounds of ammunition diverted in 2017; just over half was recovered

BRASÍLIA – Last year, 13,863 ammunition was stolen and stolen, of which 45.5% was not recovered. These are heavy bullets: 7.62 mm, for rifles; 9 mm, used on firearms and machine guns; and 0.12, running in shotguns.

The gap volume in 2017 is at a point on the curve of recent years. From 2014 to 2016, only 178 projectiles were stolen or stolen from the army. This year there were 29 cartridges.

The information is in the office of the army addressed to the office of the MP Chico Alencar (PSol-RJ) in response to a request for information formulated by the parliamentarian. Asked by GLOBO about the reasons for the jump in 2017 in the number of stolen and stolen ammunition from its own collection, the army said that it was necessary to search the public security organs.

For the deputy Chico Alencar, the figures are as follows: "Alarming" and are even more concerned about reporting the problem of deviations within the organization responsible for the surveillance of controlled products in the country and who has a long tradition of strict internal procedures:

– It is understood in the population that it exists in the Armadas Forces, deviations and irregularities are not easy to occur. However, we see numbers that I find alarming – says Chico. – A situation aggravated by the fact that the new political project will bring more confrontation, with the Bolsonaro's own proposal to give each citizen a weapon, in this context of lack of control of ammunition.

Member of Parliament also criticizes The Army said it opened investigation procedures for all cases of deviant ammunition, but despite the amount in question, it had no record of its projectiles in the context of the crime .

All ammunition purchased by public bodies legally carries a lot number and is intended to facilitate follow-up in cases of derogation or if they appear to be involved in criminal offenses. The army has not been able to identify ammunition diverted from the loom itself in criminal situations in the past five years, not infrequently. on the last day, the Brasilia Civil Police launched the Amigo Fire operation against a criminal organization that had hijacked nearly 3,000 military and military police ordnance from the Federal District on hills in Rio de Janeiro. Janeiro, according to the researchers.

Among those involved in the operation, there was a federal district firefighter working for the Office of Institutional Security (GSI), under the presidency of the Republic.

Another case of lack of control attracted attention: the diversion of thousands of ammunition from the 2nd Army Supply Company to Maranguape, Ceará. The theft was identified late last year and members of the military were arrested at the time.

– Army information on the lack of ammunition registration in the crime collection does not correspond to reality, show that the control is imperfect and that the number of reported deviations is probably underreported – says Bruno Langeani, director of the Sou da Paz Institute, who is studying the subject.