European police arrest 245 for arms trafficking

MADRID — Spanish police say a pan-European crackdown on illegal arms trafficking has resulted in 664 guns being seized and 245 people arrested in 11 countries.

A Civil Guard statement yesterday said 46 people were arrested and 247 weapons confiscated in Spain as part of the operation, which took place over several months last year.

Police said the racket leaders were four Spaniards who bought replica guns in Romania and Bulgaria and then turned them into real firearms in workshops in Spain before selling them on the black market.

Police said some 34,000 gun cartridges, hand grenades and silencers were seized in raids across Europe.

The operation was backed by Europol and arrests were also made in Belgium, Britain, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Finland, Greece, the Netherlands, Poland, Romania and Sweden.