Argentina Shutters Armory After Bullets Goes Missing

The country's defense minister ordered the shutdown of an armory Friday and fired a colonel after 26,000 bullets were reported missing.



The missing bullets were the latest loss of military weapons in a country suffering a rise in drug cartel-related crime.



In a statement, Agustin Rossi said the armory in the central province of Santa Fe would be closed, and Col. Hugo Meola would be given early retirement after serving as director of the army's arsenals.



He also ordered the head of the army, Lieut. Gen. Cesar Milani, to move the armory's stockpiles to other military compounds.



Rossi did not offer a reason for the loss of the 9 mm-caliber bullets, which are commonly used in crime and homicides.



This is the latest disappearance of weapons from a military compound, with an anti-tank missile reported missing last month from a facility in La Plata, Buenos Aires province. The missile – a tube-launched, optically tracked and wire-guided missile – was reported stolen without its launcher, leading to the suspension of an officer and four lower-ranking officers.



At the same armory where the bullets went missing, 154 semi-automatic rifles and other weapons were reported missing in 2011. The armory is located 9 miles (15 km) from Rosario, a city of 1.2 million that has become a hotspot for drug-related crime.



Colombian, Mexican and Peruvian drug-trafficking cartels set up in Rosario in the past decade, converting the area into a transit hub for cocaine producers to ship product to Europe to take advantage of the country's expansive frontiers and weak border controls, including few radars for controlling air space.



Argentina also has drawn traffickers because of its large chemical industry, well-trained chemical workers and insufficient police controls, according to experts.



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