Kazakhstan to repurchase illegal firearms, ammunition to improve public security
Xinhua, April 5, 2016 Adjust font size:
Kazakhstan's government will repurchase illegally held firearms, ammunition and explosives from the public to help prevent crimes, the Ministry of Internal Affairs said Tuesday.
The measure will come into effect next Friday, with funds for voluntary surrender of weapons coming from the national budget, the ministry said in a statement.
For each weapon, an amount of money between 21,210 tenge (61.5 U.S. dollars) and 212,100 tenge (614.8 dollars) will be paid depending on its technical condition.
Meanwhile, Kazakh citizens who voluntarily surrender unregistered firearms, ammunition and explosives are exempt from criminal and administrative responsibility, if their past actions do not contain elements of crime, according to the statement.
Similar campaigns have been carried out in the country in the past years and have seen a certain reduction of criminal activities related to firearms.
In 2015, the Kazakh government launched a measure to repurchase tubeless fire weapons and gas weapons.
Since Jan. 1, 2016, carrying and storing assault weapons is regarded as a criminal activity.
According to the ministry, Kazakh authorities have received nearly 47,000 assault weapons voluntarily surrendered by the public in 2015. Endi