Europol detains Polish firearms dealer who supplied contract killers

"Authorities from Austria, Czechia, Germany and Sweden also participated in the investigation," Europol said.

The man was arrested while transporting arms production equipment purchased in Austria.

Dozens of illegal pistols, rifles, and automatic weapons, as well as over 20,000 rounds of ammunition, were found in his home and in a nearby forest. These items were stored in barrels buried in the ground.

"The suspect, a Polish national, had previously worked as a licensed firearms dealer. This gave him expertise regarding firearms laws in Europe, including a loophole regarding weapons parts kits in Austria, which in turn supported his illegal activities," Europol said in the statement.

The man bought the parts in Austria, assembled them in Poland, and then sold them in other countries, Europol reported.

The statement mentioned that in Poland and Germany, the weapons were used by criminal groups, and in Sweden, authorities link them to a gang involved in contract killings.

The man is also accused of smuggling firearms into Belgium and Lithuania.

The investigation involved, among others, the Czech National Counter Terrorism, Extremism and Cybercrime Agency (Národní centrála proti terorismu, extremismu a kybernetické kriminalitě, SKPV).

"It provided foreign partners with data on smuggled Scorpion machine pistols," the Czech police reported on the platform X.

The SKPV also shared "operational data that led to the arrest of the suspect."

The operation also involved the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBŚP) and the Lower Silesian Department of Organized Crime and Corruption of the National Prosecutor's Office in Wrocław.

Headquartered in The Hague, Europol, officially the European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation, is the law enforcement agency of the European Union.