Image: Volker Weihbold
It has been eight years since a Stg77 assault rifle with a shortened barrel and four magazines, each containing 30 rounds, was stolen from a police station in the Pernau district of Wels. Since then, the executive has been groping in the dark about the whereabouts of the weapon.
At the beginning of June, as was announced over the weekend, the rifle was discovered during a weapon police reliability check by a police officer in the Klagenfurt-Land district. How the man who was on duty in that inspection in Wels at the time of the theft came into possession of the rifle , is unclear for the time being. The suspect refused to testify and was provisionally suspended from duty.
During the examination, 19 other weapons – ten long guns and nine handguns – were secured from the man, which the 35-year-old is said to have owned legally. In addition, he had more than 5000 rounds of ammunition at home. Another registered weapon – a rifle – has not yet been found. All seized weapons are now being forensically examined.
The police officer is suspected of further administrative misconduct, which is still being checked. In any case, the man is reported for the alleged theft of the assault rifle. “It is unfortunate that a Carinthian police officer is connected with the theft of a service weapon,” says a spokeswoman for the Carinthian state police headquarters.
The ordered forensic examination will show whether the weapon could possibly be linked to criminal offenses. According to the authorities, there is no evidence so far that the weapons have been used in criminal offenses.
Source: Nachrichten
