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Sunday 31 July 2011

Feds: AK-74 assault rifles stolen from Fort Irwin

Los Angeles (CNN) -- Federal authorities are investigating whether any of the 26 AK-74 assault rifles and a Dragunov rifle stolen from the Fort Irwin Army Post has ended up in Fresno, California, a spokesman said Saturday.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation have offered a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of individuals behind the July 15 theft of firearms from an army supply warehouse in Fort Irwin, California, an ATF official said.

The AK-74 is an updated version of the more commonly known AK-47. The modified version of the assault rifle was introduced by the Soviet army in the 1970s.

Authorities said some arrests were made after employees at the storage warehouse were interviewed, but no further details were available Saturday and other suspects were still being sought.

Federal authorities have received reports that some of the firearms have reached Fresno, and authorities have notified officials there of that possibility, a spokesman told CNN.

"Although our agents and officers are vigorously investigating this theft, we request the public's assistance to help us arrest and prosecute those individuals responsible for this crime," special agent John A. Torres of the ATF's Los Angeles office said in a statement. "Community participation is necessary to improve the likelihood that ATF and our law enforcement partners will track down the firearms as well as the criminals who have sought to destabilize our community through illegal activity."

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