More than 2,000 M-16 rifle bullets and 24 M-203 grenade launcher rounds were found to be missing from an IDF base in northern Israel on Tuesday, Jerusalem Online reported.
Israeli military police initiated an investigation following reports that the munitions had been stolen.
It’s the second robbery of an IDF base since October started. On October 2, the military announced that anti-tank mines, assault rifle ammunition and explosives were stolen from an armory the day before. Troops at the base said there were signs of a break-in before finding out that weapons had disappeared.
During the first week of July, contractors for the Israeli Army stole 33 M-16 rifles and flipped 22 of them to criminal syndicates for money. Eleven rifles were recovered before they fell into the hands of criminals.
Following the loss of assault rifles earlier this year, the army announced that $4.2 million would be invested in measures to enhance base security, including better locks, biometric scanners and more surveillance cameras.
On July 21, Israeli Police said they had arrested the suspected M-16 thief, Sputnik News reported.
IDF troops were granted permission to shoot at the legs of intruders trying to take weapons from IDK bases in June.