Authorities have uncovered a clandestine weapons factory in Cali and arrested a 70 year-old man in charge of running the workshop, El Espectador reports Monday.
Evelio de Jesus Diaz was arrested at an arms factory in the eastern Cali neighbourhood of Sindical, where weapons were allegedly produced at a rate of between five to ten pieces every week.
The elderly weapons manufacturer has accepted charges of producing, possessing and trafficking illegal arms, as well as the possession of firearms exclusively reserved for use by the Colombian armed forces.
Police seized an assortment of weapons and tools, including a submachine gun, several other types of gun and ammunition, all with an estimated value of $10,500.
“These weapons are sold to the highest bidder and are causing the majority of homicides in the city,” said the Colonel Ramiro Castrillon, operational commander of the local police, reported El Pais.