138 9mm pistols missing from San Juan Police: criminal complaint imminent
San Juan Police cannot locate 138 Bersa 9mm pistols purchased in 2022. If they do not reappear this week, the Security ministry will file a formal complaint.
San Juan weapons shortage: 138 9mm pistols unaccounted for and criminal complaint pending
According to estacionclaridad.com.ar, the Weapons Division of San Juan Police has registered a shortage of 138 Bersa 9mm pistols from the 500 units acquired in 2022 from the company "Punto de Impacto". If the weapons are not recovered by the close of this week, the State Secretariat of Security and Public Order, currently headed by Enrique Delgado, will file a formal criminal complaint with provincial courts.
Alarms were raised following a series of irregular incidents within the force. A weapon assigned to a sub-commissioner was found in the possession of a police corporal; the weapon of a female police officer who took her own life was not listed in administrative records; and the Salta Police enquired with San Juan Police about a weapon seized in connection with a drug-related incident in that province.
These inconsistencies led to an order for an inventory audit of the police arsenal. The results showed that, of the 500 pistols incorporated three years earlier, the whereabouts of approximately 150 units remained unaccounted for. In response, police leadership issued memorandum 36/26, which removed all members of the Weapons Division in charge of the armaments and appointed sub-commissioner Montaña to head the internal audit.
Montaña has been working on the task for two weeks. His latest report to his superiors indicates that, as of the date of this article, the confirmed shortage stands at 138 pistols.
To date, no individual responsibilities have been identified. However, the personnel who headed the Division during the period in which the weapons were received and managed are clearly identified in the internal file.
The questions surrounding the case are numerous: the final destination of the weapons, whether they are circulating in the informal market, the manner in which they left the facility, whether the shortage occurred in a single transfer or gradually, and who had access to the arsenal during that period. The answers to these questions will depend, to a large extent, on the judicial investigation that is now underway.
Source: Google News PR — San Juan