Clandestine 3D weapons workshop dismantled near Pau: four arrests
A garage in Soumoulou was used as a laboratory to produce polymer pistols. Four young people from Béarn, aged 17 to 21, have been arrested and charged.
Clandestine 3D weapons workshop dismantled near Pau: four arrests
Four individuals from Béarn were taken into police custody on Tuesday 9 June in the Pau conurbation. They are accused of operating a garage in Soumoulou as an illegal pistol manufacturing workshop, using a 3D printer.
The case dates back to a check carried out three months ago near Toulouse railway station. Officers apprehended a man and a woman in possession of two handguns of unusual weight. Experts examined the components carefully and isolated a DNA profile on a spring, matching a young person already flagged in police records. This discovery made it possible to locate the makeshift workshop hidden in a business park in Soumoulou, on the border between Hautes-Pyrénées and Pyrénées-Atlantiques.
Inside the hangar, law enforcement uncovered an operational structure set up on a mezzanine, fitted with assembly equipment and a stock of projectiles. According to estimates, several dozen copies of semi-automatic pistols were assembled on site between January and May, then distributed in the Toulouse and Pau regions via encrypted platforms. The average price was approximately 300 euros per piece.
At the hearing, the investigating judge ordered the remand in custody of two defendants: the one who allegedly carried out the manufacturing and one of the distributors. The other two, including a seller who had not reached the age of majority and the owner of the rented garage, were released under judicial supervision. The entire group has been charged with violations of weapons regulations. Some members already had criminal records.
The danger of these devices lies in their composition: made of plastic, they can evade metal detectors and their traceability is virtually non-existent. This operation illustrates the emergence of a parallel market where digital technology allows circumvention of legal channels. Investigators are now seeking to map all the buyers and quantify the proceeds generated by this operation.
The Toulouse prosecutor's office is overseeing the continuation of the investigation.
Source: NR Pyrénées
Source: Google News FR — Crime (fr)