The Guardia Civil has detained thirty people belonging to a criminal organization dedicated to the acquisition and sale of firearms over the Internet. The arrests, all part of Operation Vulpes III took place in several Spanish Provinces, including Alicante, Murcia and Almeria, resulting in the dismantling of two concealed workshops.
Reports indicate that in total the agents have seized 124 firearms and more than 14,100 metal cartridges, in addition to many other weapon related effects.
The two undercover workshops were located in Albacete and Vizcaya, where the weapons and ammunition were repaired or modified following which the sales were carried out over the Internet.
The investigations have been directed by the Court of Instruction number 1 in La Roda (Albacete).
Coordinated by Europol, the operation was carried out within Spain by the Guardia Civil Information Department with the support of their Headquarters in Andalusia and Catalonia and stations in Seville, Barcelona, Vizcaya, Madrid, Murcia, Granada, Cordoba, Huelva, Jaén , Alicante, Tarragona, Badajoz, A Coruña and Almeria.
The arrests now bring to an end the current phase of the operation which began last April when the Civil Guard discovered twenty-three pistols and 450 cartridges, making one arrest in the province of Albacete. It has now been established that particular operation was dedicated to procuring weapons from countries of Eastern Europe.
As a result of the Albacete arrest, the agents were able to initiate phase two in which they made the additional discoveries and arrests.
Of the 124 firearms found, the majority, 117, are short, pistols and revolvers, in addition to which agents seized six silencers, 14,100 metal cartridges of different calibers, six kilos of gunpowder and eight hundred primers.
