190 firearms and more than 17,000 cartridges seized

The Guardia Civil, within the framework of an investigation called operation “BLACKMAMBA”, has seized 190 firearms and more than 17,000 cartridges of various calibres in two house searches located in the Pamplona Basin (Navarra). In the operation, one person has been investigated for the crimes of illegal possession of weapons and storage of ammunition.

Among the 190 firearms are handguns, shotguns, rifles, submachine guns, and large-calibre machine guns, apparently unusable. Likewise, more than 12,800 metal cartridges, more than 5,000 non-metallic cartridges, several grenades (hand, mortar and rifle) have been seized.

Likewise, fundamental weapon parts, machine gun spare parts, chargers for various weapons, 1 handmade silencer and 1 anti-aircraft sight have been seized; all of them compatible with some of the weapons seized. Some of the weapons and ammunition seized are considered weapons and ammunition of war.

The investigation began at the end of 2023, when a firearm in active state was accidentally found, which was listed in the National Weapons Registry (RNA) as unusable.

Once the agents determined the traceability of the weapon, it was found that its owner was also the owner of three other disabled weapons, which had been seized. For this reason, the agents made inquiries in the RNA of the person investigated and were able to verify that he possessed a large number of weapons titled in his name, many of them unusable.

For this reason, two homes located in the Pamplona Basin were entered and searched.

It should be noted that of the 190 firearms seized, 136 do not appear in the National Weapons Registry; that is, they were outside of administrative control. The parts of these weapons could be used to reactivate or repair other weapons that have been rendered useless.

The vast majority of the weapons that were disabled were very basic and could be easily activated with the replacement of a single piece, such as the case of the three seized machine guns, since they would be in perfect working order only with the replacement of their barrel.

This operation has prevented the possible release of said firearms and cartridges onto the illicit market.

Black market weapons

Given the tightening, both at the national and European level, of the regulations that affect the control of conventional weapons, many of the weapons that feed the black market in Spain come from the rehabilitation (reactivation) of unusable (deactivated) firearms, so that they can once again carry out real fire.

Currently, it has been confirmed that many of the criminal offences that occur in Spain, related to firearms, have been perpetrated using weapons that were listed as unusable and that had subsequently been rehabilitated to fire live fire.