Munich [Germany], December 3: The German Defense Ministry confirmed on December 2 that tens of thousands of bullets in a shipment for the army were stolen last week.
A German Defense Ministry spokesman told Der Spiegel on December 2 that the military considered the theft very serious. "This ammunition must not fall into the wrong hands," the spokesman stressed.
The German military official said the incident occurred on November 25 in the town of Burg, in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt. The ammunition was transported by a civilian company to the military base. The driver who transported the ammunition on the evening of November 24 stayed overnight at a hotel and parked the car in an unprotected parking lot.
On November 28, the German army took inventory and discovered that about 20,000 bullets were missing, including 10,000 pistol bullets and 9,900 training bullets for rifles .
The German Defense Ministry said the fault lay with the delivery driver, who made a spontaneous decision and stopped the vehicle unplanned. Under the contract, the shipping company is obliged to ensure the safety of the shipment, so there are usually two drivers to take turns guarding.
The German military is working with local police to find the perpetrators of the theft. German media said that inside the military there is speculation that this was not a random theft, but that the suspect had been tracking the shipment and took advantage of the opportunity when the driver stopped the vehicle.
There have been a few cases of missing ammunition reported in Saxony-Anhalt. In recent months, police ammunition has been reported missing in the towns of Bernburg and Eisleben. However, the amount of stolen military ammunition is much larger than in previous cases.
Source: Thanh Nieu Newspaper
