Police seek effective ways to mobilize locals in HCMC to give up illegally stored arms

The Police Station of District 1 coordinated with the district’s Fatherland Front Committee to hold an event on December 23 to mobilize residents of the district to give up their illegally-stored weapons to the police. In exchange, each person handing their weapons received a gift from the police. Thanks to the local police’s efforts in the campaign, 120 weapons were collected on that day.

Colonel Nguyen Van Thanh, Vice Chief of the District 1 Police Station, said the local police have handled 10 cases involving 31 persons violating the regulations on weapons, explosives and combat gears since the beginning of the year. Most of the cases were related to acts of murder or intentional injury. The police seized 125 weapons, 1 homemade gun, 20 bullets, and 1 police support tool.

The 138 Steering Committee of Ward 4, District 3 has recently mobilized locals to voluntarily hand over weapons and explosives in exchange of rice, fire extinguishers or necessities.

Police officers of Ward 4 also visited every household to explain them about the law on management, storage and use of weapons, explosives and police gears, and mobilized them to participate in the “All People Protecting National Security” movement.

According to Captain Pham Trung Kien, Vice Chief of the Ward 4 Police Post, they would continue their efforts to mobilize the local people to voluntarily hand over their weapons, explosives and combat gear, while coordinating closely with other functional forces to encourage locals to denounce acts of illegally trading, producing, storing, and using weapons, explosives and combat gears.

The local police will also work with the local authorities and reputable people to step up the mobilization.

The District 12 Police Station on December 7 also destroyed thousands of types of police support tools and weapons of all kinds collected from the local people since 2018, including military guns, homemade hunting guns, machetes, knives, swords, homemade pitchforks, pepper spray.

The District 12 Police Station in particular and Ho Chi Minh City Police Department in general have recently deployed drastic measures to detect and handle those who illegally traded, stored, used weapons, explosives and combat gears. The police also stepped up law dissemination and mobilized people to detect, hand over and destroy all kinds of police support tools and weapons.

The Board of Directors of the Ho Chi Minh City Police Department has directed its subordinate agencies, police units in 21 districts, and Thu Duc City to grasp the situations, coordinate with the Customs, Border Guard and other functional forces to strictly manage their staffed weapons, explosives and combat gears.

In 2023, the functional forces collected a large number of weapons, including 68 guns of various kinds, 964 bullets, 5 grenades, 8 weapon components and over 3,000 rudimentary arms of all kinds.

The police also detected and handled 336 cases, involving 512 persons, related to illegal manufacture, storage, trading and use of arms and explosives, and seized a number of arms and combat gears.

For a peaceful and safe life of all people, the Ho Chi Minh City Police Department calls on people to report to the authorities on acts of illegally manufacturing, producing, storing, trading and using of weapons, explosives and combat gears. Citizens can contact the police on police hotline 113 or call 069.3187.344, as well as text the police via VNeID application or Zalo.