Man arrested in Madrid for illegally assembling and selling firearms purchased in the US
The Guardia Civil arrested a man who was buying weapons components from US websites, assembling them in his Madrid home and selling them on the black market.
Weapons trafficking assembled from the internet
The Guardia Civil, in coordination with the US federal agency Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), arrested a man in Madrid in late September for his alleged involvement in an international firearms trafficking network in which weapons were acquired via the internet. According to reports by El Confidencial, the detainee, aged between 40 and 50, was purchasing component parts from US websites and, upon receiving them in Madrid, proceeded to assemble them to form complete weapons.
Agents seized seven pistols, a shotgun with sawn-off barrels, a rifle, 13 new pistol barrels, five frames, three silencers and 1,400 metal cartridges of various calibres. Also confiscated was 6,500 euros in cash during a search of his home.
The detainee's method consisted of acquiring "essential components"—frames, barrels and slides—with which he assembled mainly pistols intended for illicit trafficking. To evade controls, he used different fictitious identities in his international purchases and employed his technical knowledge to assemble completely operational devices which he then placed on the black market.
The investigation began in February when US authorities intercepted a postal package destined for Spain that contained pistol barrels. HSI communicated the discovery to the Guardia Civil's firearms trafficking specialists, which made it possible to locate the suspect and document his operations over recent months.
The operation is part of the Integral Plan for the Control of Firearms (PICAF) of the Guardia Civil, the organisation which holds national competencies over weapons and explosives control. The Court of First Instance and Instruction of Majadahonda directed the investigation.
Source: El Confidencial