Mexico City, Feb 1 (IANS): The US manufactured most of the weapons seized by authorities in Mexico over the last two years, according to a report released by the Foreign Affairs Ministry here.

Mexican security forces seized 18,091 US-made weapons between January 1, 2020 and November 18, 2021, an average of 812 guns or other firearms a month, Xinhua news agency reported citing the Ministry as saying in a report.

Of the weapons seized, over 10,500 were handguns and more than 7,300 were shotguns, it said.

Mexico estimates that at least half a million pieces of weapons are brought to the country illegally each year from the US and fall into the hands of criminals south of the countries' border.

More than 3.9 million crimes are committed in Mexico each year by criminals using US-made weapons, 70 per cent of which can be tracked to America, according to the Ministry.

In a bid to decrease US arms entering Mexico, the Mexican government filed a lawsuit against 11 American manufacturers and distributors in August last year.