Gang making illegal weapons seized by police in Spain

SPANISH police have dismantled a crime ring accused of manufacturing weapons illegally.

The group allegedly would buy guns that had already been deactivated and then make the weapons fireable again.

Officers first became aware of the operation after detecting numerous online purchases of deactivated handguns Madrid, Lerida, Gerona, Barcelona and Valencia.

The gang would use a stolen ID to buy the guns, but were not required to provide a firearms licence as the weapons were not fireable.

The weapons were reportedly altered in a makeshift workshop to make them capable of firing bullets again. The gang would then resell them on the black market.

The men were arrested in the towns of Almazora and Vall de Uxo in Castellon and in Sagunto, Valencia.

A police spokesperson said that a secret workshop was discovered in Castellon, using ground-penetrating radar technology. It was allegedly hidden in a basement that had been specially dug out, accessed by a small door behind a shower.

As well as the machinery and tools needed to complete manufacture the weapons, police confiscated three pistols which were found hidden in one of the group’s vehicles.