Smuggling

Federal Police secures weapons, ammunition, money and cars

German federal police stopped two Turkish and one German nationals at the Hörbranz border crossing. The officers found a pistol with a full magazine, almost 2,500 cartridges and around 24,000 euros in cash on the people and in the two vehicles. In the subsequent apartment searches in Hesse, police officers found several tens of thousands of euros, weapons and ammunition.

Lindau federal police officers, together with officers from the border police and customs, subjected the occupants of a car with a German registration and this subsequent SUV with a Hungarian dealer number to a check on the BAB 96. During the inspection, the federal police found that the 54-year-old German driver had attached the license plate of a three-wheeled moped to his car. During the search of the vehicle, the police also found cardboard boxes and plastic bags with a total of 2,450 cartridges for pistols of various calibers.

The following SUV was occupied by two Turkish citizens living in Germany. The officers found a pistol, a full magazine and almost 3,000 euros in the handbag of the 40-year-old passenger. In the jacket and in a hidden belt pocket of the 38-year-old driver, the officers found cash totaling almost 20,000 euros.

As a result, the three persons were suspected of having been imported into and traded in arms and ammunition. The German also had a violation of the compulsory insurance law. The federal police arrested the three accused, who do not have a license to carry weapons in Germany, provisionally. The officers seized the vehicles, weapons, ammunition and cash after consulting the Kempten public prosecutor.

The Hessian police searched the homes of the accused at the instigation of the Kempten public prosecutor’s office. The search of the German proceeded without any police-relevant findings. In the rooms of the 38-year-old Turk, however, the officials struck gold. A live firearm with a milled-out serial number, three alarm weapons, one of which had been converted into a live firearm, the associated ammunition and around 2,000 cartridges were seized here. The police also found more than 30,000 euros in cash. The officers found several thousand rounds of ammunition and a revolver in the Turkish woman’s apartment.

At the request of the Kempten public prosecutor’s office, the three suspects were brought before the Kempten district court on Thursday afternoon. The responsible investigating judge issued a pre-trial detention order against each of the arrested persons, which was initially suspended under conditions, reporting obligations and the submission of passports.