Let me tell you about a small controversy currently ongoing here in Chile
On July 15, two days ago, an ongoing investigation was made public by the state after some irregularities were revealed regarding the sale of a batch of rifles by FAMAE (the Army's guns and ammo factory) to civilians. According to our national police, 30 sniper rifles were sold by accident to members of the public between 1999 and 2014. The guns were reported to be FD-200 DMRs, semi-auto rifles based on the Swiss SG542 and chambered in 7.62mm NATO. The rifles sold were originally registered in the national firearms database as being .308 caliber, bolt-action rifles. The investigation stemmed from the suspicion of foul play as the registrations didn't seem to match the description of the rifles. Naturally, the national press ran with the story and made it sound like it was an immense threat to public safety.
Today, however, FAMAE sent out a press release in defense of their actions, stating that the rifles sold to the public were, in fact, especially manufactured with state permission as sport guns. The rifles were chambered in .308 Win and built as a straight-pull bolt action —with no previsions for a gas system—, as shown in their original registration papers. These rifles received the designation FD2000. Furthermore, FAMAE stated that the National General Movilization Department (DMGN in Spanish, the military body responsible for gun control and registration in Chile) had reviewed the guns and deemed them fit for the civilian market. At the end of the press release, FAMAE asks journalists to pretty please send them any questions regarding the matter before publishing incomplete or misguiding news on the issue. Practically all of the rifles were allegedly sold to collectors, on account of their price and rarity.
The story is still developing, but it seems to me that the police, the press, and other authorities might be involved in some fearmongering hijinx. The investigation has allegedly been going on since February, so it's odd that it took them so long to find out about such a mixup.
