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The Ecuadorian Police arrested seven people in an operation, carried out in the coastal province of Manabí, in which they dismantled a gang dedicated to the international trafficking of firearms, ammunition and explosives.
The General Commander of the Police, Fausto Salinas, indicated this Thursday that the operation was carried out with the support of the Intervention and Rescue Group (GIR), along with their US counterparts, who “dismantled a criminal group dedicated to international arms trafficking from fire, ammunition and explosives”.
According to Salinas, the detainees had machines to mark and manufacture firearms. “They acquired large-caliber weapons, parts and accessories, to later traffic by air and sea in couriers. There are 7 apprehended ”.
Among the evidence seized are thirteen rifles, eleven pistols, twenty-two feeders, as well as dynamite and 3D machines.
On his Twitter account, Salinas included photographs with the blurred faces of the detainees, as well as images of the seized weapons, among others.
Relentless against organized crime. In #manabíour investigative units with the support of the #GIRalong with its similar #USAdismantled a criminal group dedicated to the international trafficking of firearms, ammunition and explosives.#CrusadeForSecurity pic.twitter.com/DkMSWnt0UC
—GraD. Fausto Salinas Samaniego (@CmdtPoliciaEc) April 13, 2023
The levels of violence have increased in recent months in Ecuador, and the Government has announced new measures to combat insecurity, one of them highly controversial.
On April 1, the President of Ecuador, Guillermo Lasso, announced the authorization to possess and carry weapons for civilian use for personal defense under strict requirements, among other measures to combat insecurity.
The announcement was made at a time of increasing violence, including murders, hitmen, the abandonment of a human head in a park and numerous robberies, including an assault on a bank in a busy shopping center in broad daylight in the coastal city of Guayaquil (southwest).
In that same city, criminals kidnapped a subject and hours later left him with an explosive device attached to his body.
It took bomb squads more than three hours to deactivate the device that was taped to the citizen’s vest, as well as to his left leg, a scene never before seen in Ecuador.
Requirements
The decree signed for the possession and carrying of weapons specifies among the requirements having attained at least 25 years of age, having a certificate of the psychological test and another of having passed the toxicological test, which determines that the person does not ingest substances subject to control or is not alcoholic, both issued by the Ministry of Public Health.
In the same way, a certificate of skill in the handling and use of the weapon issued by the Ministry of National Defense.
Likewise, not having an enforceable sentence condemning the commission of a crime, not registering a history of violence against women or members of the family nucleus, reads the decree that points out as requirements “others established by the Ministry of National Defense and the Joint Command of the Armed Forces for that purpose”.
Source: Elcomercio
I am Jack Morton and I work in 24 News Recorder. I mostly cover world news and I have also authored 24 news recorder. I find this work highly interesting and it allows me to keep up with current events happening around the world.
