Police raid home of officer accused of taking live rounds, suspend him amid probe

The North Jeolla Provincial Police Agency has carried out a forced search of the home of a police officer suspected of taking three live rounds after a shooting drill. However, investigators found no additional bullets or shell casings.

According to Yonhap on Wednesday, police recently raided the home of the officer, identified only as Lieutenant A. He is suspected of violating the Act on the Safety Management of Guns, Swords, Explosives, Etc. and of theft.

Police said the search turned up no additional live rounds or casings, and that a check of the ammunition and firearms inventory at the lieutenant's workplace also found nothing unusual.

Investigators are now focusing on the officer's cellphone and other records to determine a motive for the alleged theft.

In a phone call with Yonhap on Tuesday, Lieutenant A said he had recently realized he had three shell casings from a firing-range training session more than 30 years earlier. He explained that while trying to figure out how to dispose of them, he ended up taking the live rounds instead.

Police, however, said the officer's explanation -- that he took the live rounds to get rid of the shell casings he had kept -- does not fully account for his actions. They are looking into whether there was another motive, as well as how he came to possess the three casings in the first place.

Lieutenant A is under police investigation on charges of violating the gun safety law and theft. He allegedly took three .38-caliber handgun rounds around 9:30 a.m. on Saturday following a regular shooting drill.

Investigators found that during the drill, the officer fired 32 of the 35 rounds he had been issued for training and kept the remaining three. He then turned in three shell casings he had been holding onto instead.

Lieutenant A has been suspended from duty and remains under police investigation.

"We are investigating with all possibilities open, but so far no circumstances have been found suggesting the rounds were intended for criminal use," a police official said. "We will continue the related investigation."