June 16, 2026, 4:46 p.mJune 16, 2026, 4:46 p.m
French authorities, with the support of Europol and the Federal Office of Police, have dismantled a Europe-wide arms smuggling ring. Ten suspects were arrested in southern France and assets worth over 1.2 million euros (around 1.1 million francs) were confiscated.
The coordinated actions took place between June 8th and 11th in southern France, as the European police authority Europol in The Hague announced on Tuesday. The French police and the Federal Office of Police (Fedpol) in Bern were involved in the investigation. When asked, Fedpol was coordinating in this case.
The emergency services seized, among other things, counterfeit firearms. (symbol image)Image: keystone
The investigation began in June 2025, it said. At that time, investigators discovered two fake pistols in a luxury car that was traveling from Switzerland to France. This led to the discovery of a network consisting mainly of Turkish nationals.
According to Europol, during the searches of seven properties in French cities such as Fréjus, Cannes and Nice, the emergency services seized, among other things, counterfeit firearms, three luxury vehicles, jewelry, computers and around 30,000 euros in cash.
The alleged Turkish-German leader of the network was arrested in Slovakia and extradited to Turkey in early 2026. Despite his imprisonment, investigators suspect that he continued to direct the network’s activities through accomplices across Europe.
According to the authorities, the network specialized in smuggling counterfeit and converted weapons from Turkey to the EU. These are industrially manufactured and can hardly be distinguished from real firearms.
Authorities believe the network made significant profits by supplying these weapons to criminal actors across Europe. Members of the group lived in luxurious villas and apartments in the south of France and used high-quality vehicles for their criminal activities, Europol further wrote. (hkl/sda)