Dismantling of criminal organisation and seizure of 8,000 military weapons for sale on international black market to terrorist groups and organised crime

The operation has so far led to the seizure of over 8,000 military weapons for sale on the international black market to terrorist groups and organised crime. This police action stems from the investigations carried out by the General Commissariat of Intelligence to neutralise the sale of decommissioned firearms and military weapons as part of efforts to combat the proliferation of weapons and through stepping up international police cooperation.

The five arrested individuals, four men and one woman of Spanish nationality, formed part of a criminal organisation engaged in the legal purchase of decommissioned military weapons that they subsequently recommissioned and put up for sale on the black market. Their activity basically consisted of purchasing these weapons through legally established channels in order to subsequently obtain the parts needed to recommission them and put them back into circulation illegally. To avoid suspicion from State law enforcement agencies, they acquired the weapons using a legal company engaged in the sale of sports equipment. However, this company did not have the licence needed to sell this type of component.

The arrests took place in the towns of Olot (Girona), Liendo (Cantabria), Galdácano and Guecho (Biscay). A sophisticated workshop was discovered in the latter town for the manipulation and recommissioning of these weapons. So far, the six property searches carried out have led to the seizure of 8,000 military weapons ready for sale, including 29 long arms, various short arms, several canons and a range of ammunition of differing calibres.

This modus operandi used to purchase weapons is the same as the one used for the attacks carried out in Paris on 7 January 2015, against employees of the satirical weekly 'Charlie Hebdo', in which 12 people were killed and another 11 injured, all with recommissioned weapons acquired at the time from a Slovak gunsmith.

The operation stems from the surveillance carried out by the investigating officers on the weapons used by a terrorist in the attack against a Jewish museum in Brussels on 24 May 2014, in which four people were killed by shots fired by a citizen of French nationality and Algerian origin.

As a result, the General Commissariat of Intelligence is now focusing its action on the arrest and neutralisation of the sale of decommissioned firearms and military weapons within the framework of measures to prevent and control firearms that could be supplied to unauthorised users, organised crime gangs and terrorists. The police operation is being supported by EUROPOL, which has provided specialists to the team working in this area. This cooperation forms part of the National and European Union Security Strategy.