Man arrested in Madrid for assembling weapons from internet parts
Civil Guard detains a man who purchased components abroad and assembled weapons for sale on the black market. Seven pistols, a rifle and 1,400 cartridges were seized.
Weapons trafficking manufactured in Madrid
A resident of Madrid province has been arrested by the Civil Guard after assembling firearms using components purchased on the internet, according to elmundo.es. The detainee purchased essential parts—frames, barrels and slides—from websites in the United States and other countries, received them from abroad and assembled them to sell the weapons on the illegal market.
The Civil Guard 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 different calibres. Officers also confiscated €6,500 in cash. The suspect used fictitious identities when making his international purchases to conceal his acquisitions and evade controls established in Spain.
The arrest was made as part of Operation Ciermet, developed jointly by the Civil Guard and the US federal agency Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). The investigation began when US authorities intercepted a postal package addressed to Spain containing several new pistol barrels. HSI agents passed the information to Civil Guard specialists in weapons trafficking to identify the recipient.
Collaboration between both countries made it possible to reconstruct the detainee's purchasing history and link the various shipments to the same person. Although he used false names and security measures to hinder his identification, investigators discovered that the man was buying the parts to assemble weapons intended for clandestine sale. He took advantage of his technical knowledge and tools to assemble pistols and other fully functional weapons.
The operation is part of the Civil Guard's Comprehensive Plan for the Control of Firearms (PICAF), aimed at combating clandestine weapons supply channels. The investigation was directed by the Investigation Section of the District Court in Majadahonda.
Source: Google News ES — Crime (es)