Kalashnikov assault rifles, grenades, assault rifles: a weapons smuggling network liquidated in Europe

An international network for the illegal trafficking of firearms, which smuggled assault rifles and grenades, has been dismantled in Europe. The perpetrators supplied Kalashnikov assault rifles and grenades to French criminal groups. This was reported on April 11 by Europol, reports UNN. 

Details

It is noted that as a result of an international operation, seven suspects were detained, including four French citizens, who allegedly purchased powerful weapons on illegal markets in the Western Balkans.

The photos released by Europol show dozens of assault rifles, cartridges and hand grenades hidden in a spare wheel and secret compartments of a caravan.

The operation was made possible thanks to cooperation between law enforcement agencies of several countries: the Central Office for Combating Organized Crime of France (OCLCO), the specialized interregional prosecutor's office of Paris (JIRS), the Spanish Guardia Civil, the criminal police of Kranj (Slovenia) and the border police of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The case began in September 2023, when law enforcement agencies of Bosnia and Herzegovina informed the Slovenian authorities that a vehicle carrying a large number of weapons and ammunition was heading to France. Since the vehicle was already in Slovenia on its way to Austria, the Slovenian authorities informed Austria. Austrian police stopped a vehicle registered in Slovenia

As a result of the search of the caravan, law enforcement officers discovered a real arsenal:

• 25 Kalashnikov assault rifles,
• 126 hand grenades,
• 25 kg of cartridges,
• a machine gun,
• a pistol.

All this was hidden in special caches and even in the spare wheel.

The driver, a Slovenian citizen, was detained. Analysis of his mobile phone showed contacts with French, Serbian, Bosnian and Spanish citizens. One of the French citizens was identified as a co-organizer of the shipment of weapons.

The weapons came from Bosnia and Herzegovina, after which they were illegally transported through Slovenia and Austria to France. On March 18, 2025, searches and arrests took place simultaneously in several countries. Four people were arrested in France, one in Spain, and two in Bosnia. The main suspect is still wanted.

Let us remind you

As a result of more than 1,000 searches across the country, law enforcement officers seized more than 800 weapons and 57 kg of explosives, and detained 67 suspects.

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