Peru police destroy thousands of illegal weapons

Police in Peru on Friday destroyed over 11,000 weapons seized in recent months during police operations nationwide. In the city of Pisco, located some 300 kilometers (186 miles) from the capital Lima, officials said this was the largest weapons destruction operation in a decade. The majority of the weapons were seized from criminals and gangs. The arsenal consisted of 3,783 pistols, 5,230 revolvers, 319 carbines, 1,213 shotguns and 1,065 handcrafted weapons. According to official statistics, 13 out of 100 Peruvians were victims of robbery between July and December 2018, most carried out with a firearm. The destruction was carried out within the framework of the United Nations International Day of Destruction of Small Arms commemorated every 9th of July since 2001.