Ethiopian police say it has captured 15 Kalashnikov guns and 7,800 bullets last week in the eastern part of Ethiopia, Afar region.
The illegal weapons were hidden in an Isuzu truck heading from Dicheto town to Logia, according to federal police report on the state broadcaster – ETV. It is indicated that the driver refused to stop the truck at customs checking point, which led the federal police officers to chase after the truck and finally capture it.
The report indicated that the truck was captured in the evening around 9 pm last week. Recent reports in Ethiopia show that illegal arms trafficking has been growing, leading the east African country to prepare a new law that governs the handling of guns.
In 2017, the estimated total number of guns (both licit and illicit) held by civilians in Ethiopia was 377,000, according Ethiopia’s profile by Gunpolicy.org of the University of Sydney. The profile shows that the defense forces of Ethiopia had 525,600 firearms, while police in Ethiopia are reported to have 79,000 firearms.