COLUMBUS, Ohio — While the Columbus Division of Police continues to investigate the theft of 160,000 rounds of ammo from a warehouse earlier this month, one central Ohio gun shop owner says he's had shipments of ammo and guns stolen as well.
Eric Delbert, the owner of L.E.P.D. Firearms and Range, said it's been happening in the gun industry for a few years. He added it's scary to see that the thefts have happened to local law enforcement as well.
“It could include guns. We would get a box that is supposed to have four firearms in it, and it only had three. We had to start going through the supply chain to see exactly where it disappeared,” Delbert said.
Delbert said the concern isn't the monetary value, but what criminals could do with that type of product. It's a concern Columbus police have as well.
“The big thing right now is we do have a lot of ammo out on the street, we are trying to recover it,” said Columbus Division of Police Deputy Chief Smith Weir.
Weir said thefts from warehouses may be happening more than we know. With supply chain issues because of the pandemic, many aren't as concerned if items don't arrive on-time or in total.
“I believe based on the investigation, it could spread out even further. As we get into how these cargo thefts work between the warehouses and then where the products get moved to, as they get moved to the underground market, I think that's a fascinating part of the investigation,” Weir said.
Delbert agrees it's an issue, especially for guns and ammo, and hopes police can solve this theft quickly.
“It is a huge problem. We know for a fact it is a problem. When we deal with our distributors and talk about what went out in that package, and what we received here, we know that it is in the supply chain through the most common carriers we use every day,” Delbert said.