Spanish authorities have seized around 12,000 weapons, some of which were capable of bringing down aircraft, with the haul said to be worth around 10 million euro on the black market.
The National Police arrested four men and one woman – all Spanish nationals – who had been operating a sophisticated trafficking network in several provinces across the country under the front of a historical weapons workshop that bought supposedly decorative firearms. The purchased weapons were then restored and sold on the black market throughout Europe.
Among the weapons seized were vintage Smith & Wesson revolvers, CETME, Bergmann, and Beretta rifles, and even heavier anti-aircraft machine guns. The gang members, who were arrested in Cantabria, Girona, and Vizcaya, ran what the police called a “sophisticated and fully-equipped” underground repair workshop, where officers found thousands of spare parts used in gun repair, as well as stamps and certificates for creating fake documentation for the firearms. About 80,000 euro in cash was also discovered.
