A shipment of German ammunition has been stolen from a delivery lorry in the eastern town of Burg, the country's defence ministry has confirmed.
The exact quantity remains unspecified, but weekly news magazine Der Spiegel reported that it is close to 20,000 rounds.
The theft reportedly occurred when the driver, working for a civilian transport company contracted by the military, left his truck overnight in an unguarded parking lot on November 25. Upon delivery the following day to the nearby Clausewitz Barracks, it was discovered that the ammunition was missing. An investigation has since been launched by the army in collaboration with local police.
Reports indicate the shipment consisted of 10,000 rounds of live ammunition for pistols, 9,900 blank rounds for assault rifles, and smoke grenades. Authorities have yet to confirm if any arrests have been made, intensifying concerns regarding who might acquire the lost ammunition.
We take the theft very seriously - this kind of ammunition must not fall into the wrong hands, a spokesperson from the defence ministry told the German media.
The investigation will focus on why the driver chose an insecure location for the stop, despite existing protocols that allow for assistance from the armed forces, including the availability of escorts for transport vehicles.
This incident is part of a trend of similar security breaches in the Saxony-Anhalt region, with previous reports of missing ammunition in the months leading up to this theft. Notably, local police in Bernburg reported 90 missing rounds in August, and 180 rounds were reported lost in Eisleben shortly before that. No links between these cases have been established.
