Brasília, 7/19/2004 (Agência Brasil) - On the first day of the Disarmament Campaign, the federal police received 300 weapons around the country. However, many more weapons were turned over to local police and will be counted only later. It is estimated that the campaign will collect somewhere between 70,000 to 80,000 weapons by the end of the year. After they are collected they will be destroyed.

The government is paying between US$33 (R$100) and US$100 (R$300) per weapon, depending on what kind it is.

Unregistered weapons need a 24-hour "safe conduct" pass from the federal police before they can be legally turned in.

The campaign runs until December 29. After that date, as per the new Disarmament Statute recently passed by Congress, possession of an unregistered weapon becomes a federal crime and anyone arrested with an unregistered weapon cannot be released on bail.

Translator: Allen Bennett