Police from the departments of Rivera, Artigas, Tacuarembo, and Durazno worked together and seized more than 100 weapons and 3,500 rounds of ammunition in Operation Ares.

Thirty-five simultaneous raids were carried out, and a current and a former police officer were arrested in the operations.

Intelligence work confirmed that a transnational group was selling firearms and ammunition of various calibers through text messaging on social media, where they offered and bought weapons.

The group was comprised of Uruguayans in the country and was led by an inmate linked to Brazilian border factions, the Ministry of the Interior reported.

The identified messaging groups had a total of 1,700 members. They operated both nationally and internationally.

“The seized weapons will be examined by the Scientific Police to determine if they were stolen or used in the commission of other crimes, both within and outside the country, thanks to the Interpol database, which allows for the exchange of information,” the Ministry of the Interior reported.

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