Angolan authorities have seized more than 30,000 military-grade firearms from private security companies as part of a nationwide effort to tighten control over private sector weapons, police announced on Thursday.
The large-scale operation, which began in February and lasted more than 100 days, resulted in the seizure of 31,392 unauthorized firearms, as well as 214,000 rounds of ammunition and 35,000 magazines.
Angola is home to more than 1,700 registered private security companies. Police ordered the companies to voluntarily surrender any weapons that do not meet legal standards by 2024 and replace them with authorized alternatives. However, compliance has been minimal, with only 1,548 weapons returned, while more than 40,000 remain missing.
Police say the ongoing crackdown aims to improve public safety and prevent illegal firearms from being diverted to criminal networks. Between January 2024 and February 2025, authorities recorded the disappearance of 254 unlicensed weapons.
A police spokesman warned: “The use of prohibited weapons will now lead to criminal prosecution.”
Angola has long struggled with the legacy of its 27-year civil war, which ended in 2002 and left behind a large cache of illegal weapons. More than 200,000 illegal weapons were seized in a civil disarmament campaign in 2008.
Tens of thousands of authorized firearms have been imported to support the transition and distributed to private security companies, replacing confiscated military-grade stockpiles.