Authorities break up Europe-wide arms smuggling ring
Keystone-SDA
French authorities, with the support of Europol and the Swiss Federal Police Office, have dismantled a Europe-wide arms-smuggling ring. Ten suspects were arrested in the south of France and assets worth over €1.2 million (CHF1.1 million) were seized.
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The coordinated operations took place in the south of France between June 8-11, as the European police agency Europol in The Hague announced on Tuesday. According to the statement, the French police and the Federal Office of Police (Fedpol) in Bern were involved in the investigations. Fedpol had acted in a coordinating capacity in this case, the office said in response to an enquiry.
The investigations began in June 2025, the statement added. At that time, investigators discovered two counterfeit pistols in a luxury car travelling from Switzerland to France. This led to the uncovering of a network consisting mainly of Turkish nationals.
According to Europol, during searches of seven properties in French cities such as Fréjus, Cannes and Nice, the authorities seized, amongst other things, counterfeit firearms, three luxury vehicles, jewellery, computers and around €30,000 in cash.
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The alleged Turkish-German leader of the network was arrested in Slovakia and extradited to Turkey in early 2026. Despite his detention, investigators suspect that he continued to direct the network’s activities via accomplices across Europe.
According to the authorities, the network specialised in smuggling counterfeit and modified weapons from Turkey into the EU. These were industrially manufactured and virtually indistinguishable from genuine firearms.
The authorities believe that the network made substantial profits by supplying these weapons to criminal groups across Europe. Members of the group lived in luxurious villas and flats in the south of France and used high-end vehicles for their criminal activities, Europol added.
Translated from German by AI/jdp
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