THE AMNESTY for handguns has as yet had little effect, the Národná Obroda daily reported.
It is estimated that there are about 25,000 unregistered handguns in Slovakia. Only a small portion are thought to come from domestic sources, as only 26 military weapons (including one signal pistol) have been lost since the establishment of an independent Slovakia in 1993.
Most of the arms are brought into Slovakia illegally.
"The arms used for committing crimes are mostly remanufactured and unregistered. Many of them come from the former Yugoslavia," police spokesperson Marta Bujňáková said.
The first week of the amnesty for unregistered handguns saw only one handgun surrendered, an old CZ 24 pistol was handed in to police in Martin.
Over the next two weeks several more illegal weapons were handed in but police have yet to reveal their type or serial number, the daily wrote.