The Assiut security directorate's Criminal Investigation Department raided three gun-manufacturing workshops in the Bani Rafae village in Assiut governorate, the Ministry of Interior said in a statement on Tuesday. The department had been cooperating with police stations from surrounding villages, especially the Manfalut police station, in a security crackdown targeting holders, dealers, and manufacturers of unlicensed firearms. Policemen found a total of 29 firearms on one the site, including makeshift shotguns, rifles, and a larger number of pistols and other weapons still in the making, the statement said. Security forces also arrested the suspects managing the workshops although the statement did not identify the exact number of arrests. The statement added that the defendants admitted to their part in the illegal arms manufacturing business and now face prosecution. It also said that legal action and procedures, including further investigation, are set to follow. Smuggling, manufacturing, and purchasing of unlicensed weapons increased markedly in the immediate aftermath of the 25 January Revolution, as demand rose as a result of a security vacuum. Rudimentary workshops manufacturing homemade firearms, ammunition, birdshot, and melee weapons have been subjected to an intense crackdown by police forces over the past year.
