400 illegal guns to be destroyed in Beijing

(chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2009-08-07 14:29

Over 400 illegal guns confiscated by Beijing police since March this year, including M4 carbines, M21 sniper rifles, and the Desert Eagle high caliber pistols, were sent to a depository in Fengtai district in the southwest part of the city, the Beijingtimes reported Friday.

In this undated photo, a police officer shows a confiscated fake gun in Fengtai district, Beijing. [Beijingtimes]

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While it can often be difficult to tell fake weapons apart from real ones, most of the seized were in fact counterfeits, according to Guo Yilin, an officer with the Beijing police’s dangerous goods section. Guo said these weapons will be dismantled first, then stored in the depository until they can be destroyed in a furnace.

Police said that people who buy fake air guns would be arrested if the weapons were more than toy replicas, but people who voluntarily turned in these weapons would not be charged. Anyone who offers important clues that result in the confiscation of illegal weapons will be awarded up to 5,000 yuan (US$732).

The police have already started to increase their efforts to combat illegal weapons and dangerous chemicals as China approaches the celebrations for the 60th anniversary of its founding, which begin on October 1st.