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Manufactured to be used in wars, long weapons, such as carbines, rifles and machine guns, have become key pieces in the territorial dispute between criminal factions operating in Rio de Janeiro (RJ).
Highly lethal, they have transformed into and are displayed shamelessly in communities. Behind this arsenal, there is a path that crosses thousands of kilometers until the equipment reaches Rio de Janeiro soil.
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In an interview with the column, delegate Vinícius Domingos, coordinator of the Weapons and Explosives Inspection Coordination of the Civil Police of RJ (Cfae), detailed the route of the war material to the state — and later to the police.
The authority highlighted that rifles and carbines are seen as a serious issue in Rio, which requires action aimed exclusively at mitigating the problem.
“We seek to produce a report that reveals as much information as possible about the origin of the weapons, both objective and subjective, to support not only the units responsible for the investigations, but also to identify and punish the people who traffic them into RJ.”
The origin
According to Cfae, 725 rifles were seized in RJ in 2024. Of these, only 22 were manufactured in Brazil. As pointed out by the coordinator, 80% of foreign weapons came from the United States, while the other 20% came from countries such as Germany, Belgium, Switzerland, Georgia, Turkey and Romania.
In most cases, the material does not arrive in the country ready for use. Domingos highlighted the existence of so-called “counterfeit or artisanal versions of rifles that, even without the quality of the originals, maintain high lethal power.
“They are capable of shooting, but they are not of good quality. Therefore, they do not last two decades. Still, they work long enough to be used by organized crime”, he explained.
One of the reasons why criminals choose to finalize weapons in the national territory is to circumvent supervision. This is because it is easier to import parts — generally sold without restrictions — than the complete equipment.
On Brazilian soil, the copyfakes are finished with airsoft pipes and components, which makes them visually similar to the originals.
The main routes
Although there are different entry methods, land transport is still preferred by criminal factions.
The Cfae points to the border with Paraguay and the Amazon border with Peru, Colombia and Venezuela as the main entry points for foreign weapons.
“In fact, a large part of them is diverted from the regular Army forces of these countries”, commented Domingos.
The combat
Given this scenario, to try to contain the flow of weapons, it is necessary, in the coordinator’s opinion, to work on legislation.
“We understand, at Cfae, that the border is really a problem, but not the biggest, because it is difficult to solve”, he analyzed.
For him, it is necessary to modernize legislation not only to inhibit criminals’ interest in arms trafficking, but also so that those convicted serve enough sentences and serve as an example of what is not allowed in the country.
