Xiamen police, in East China's Fujian Province, have cracked a huge illegal firearms shipment case, seizing a large quantity of firearms and ammunition, the Xiamen Public Security Bureau said on Monday.
Three suspects are in custody, said Lu Zhicheng, director of the bureau's publicity department, in a telephone interview.
The illegal shipment was discovered during a campaign being carried out by the bureau targeting crimes committed on roads and highways.
In the small hours of Sunday morning, police stationed on the city's Jinshang Road became suspicious of a truck bearing the license plate 05263, from the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. The firearms and ammunition were discovered and seized when the police stopped and checked the truck.
According to Lu, the police found a US-made M16 submachine gun that can be used to fire highly explosive shells, 12 domestically made 56-1 tommy guns, and five 40MM high explosive shells as well as 318 rounds of ammunition.
Three suspects were seized on the spot and are still in police custody. Initial investigations revealed that the three suspects, 53-year-old Zhang Yongjun, 32-year-old Qin Gang and 55-year-old Lu Shisheng are all residents of Nanning, capital of Guangxi in South China.
However, the three suspects claimed they knew nothing about the firearms and ammunition. It is not clear where the firearms and ammunition come from.
According to Chinese law, individuals are not allowed to possess any type of firearms or ammunition. Punishment in such cases is severe.
( March 26, 2002)
