Inicio de la páginaNoticias sobre las armas de fuego
2.5 Billion Drachmas Annual Turnover from Arms Trafficking
22 December 2001
Athens Imerisia
Policemen indicate that arms trafficking is an exceedingly profitable activity, which over recent years has been booming because of great demand. The turnover of weapons smugglers, whether for hunting weapons or pistols for private use, amounts to a good number of billions of drachmas, the majority of the profits going to Crete, per the Greek Police EL.AS.
EL.AS. staff officers estimate that gun trafficking has amounted to at least 50,000 guns annually over the past... (GunPolicy.org)
Conference on Curbing Illegal Arms Trade Held in Skopje
19 November 2001
Skopje MTV1 Televizija (Macedonian)
A conference entitled The Problem of Small Arms and Light Weapons, and Their Implication on Security in the Republic of Macedonia, organized by the Cabinet of the Macedonian president and the German non-governmental organization Fridrich Neuman was held in Skopje today.
The general conclusion reached at the conference was that large quantities of small and light arms are still present in the region and that energetic measures must be taken to curb the illegal arms... (GunPolicy.org)
Lea el artículo entero : Skopje MTV1 Televizija (Macedonian)
Bosnians Make Weapons-Amnesty Swap
11 October 2001
Associated Press
SARAJEVO, Bosnia-Herzegovina — International officials in Bosnia have collected thousands of weapons so far this year in a program offering civilians amnesty in return for surrendered weapons, a NATO official said Thursday.
Since the beginning of the year, more than 2,650 small arms and 567,790 rounds of ammunition have been collected in the NATO-led program dubbed "Harvest," said Capt. Daryl Morrell, a spokesman for the NATO-led peacekeeping force in Bosnia.
It is... (GunPolicy.org)
Illegal Arms Holding Macedonia to Ransom
5 September 2001
Dawn (Karachi)
SKOPJE — Men smuggling millions of dollars of weapons on mule trains under the noses of NATO peacekeepers have held a European country to ransom. They are melting away for now, but could reemerge any time if they do not get what they want.
That is the risk for Macedonia and NATO troops trying to restore its security by collecting weapons from guerrillas under a Western-engineered peace deal. If planned political reforms do not work, the guns will be back.
For every... (GunPolicy.org)
Macedonian Rebels Surrender Weapons
28 August 2001
Associated Press
BRODEC, Macedonia — Submachine guns slung over their shoulders, hundreds of rebels left their hideouts Tuesday and streamed toward a former mountain stronghold to surrender their weapons to NATO, in an operation meant to contribute to permanent peace in Macedonia.
On the second day of their arms collecting mission, NATO officers at Brodec, just northeast of the ethnically tense northern city of Tetovo, described the insurgents as complying with terms of their... (GunPolicy.org)
17 July 2001
Mail & Guardian (Johannesburg)
Leonid Minin was celebrating at the Hotel Europa he owned in Cinisello Balsamo outside Milan.
There was plenty to toast that balmy night last August. There was the fact that there were four prostitutes and 20g of cocaine to get the party off with a bang. And there was the fact that the millionaire gunrunner had just delivered 113 tonnes of small arms to West Africa from his native Ukraine.
An Italian vice squad patrol chanced to stumble upon the party. "The arrest was... (GunPolicy.org)
Some 400,000 Illegal Weapons in Circulation in Greece
19 April 2001
Athens To Vima
On the anniversary of the Resurrection of Christ 35-year-old drug addict Apostolos Yiannoulis opened fire with a semi-automatic weapon on a crowd attending the service outside the Church of Karitsa in Pieria, killing a 10-year-old schoolchild and a 47-year-old merchant.
At Thessaloniki's Peraia unidentified assailants shot a 32-year-old shopping at a kiosk on Easter Sunday.
A 15-year-old was hurt in a similar incident in Thessaloniki's Ionia, shot by unidentified... (GunPolicy.org)
Italy Cracks Arms Smuggling Ring
19 April 2001
CNN
ROME, Italy — An international arms smuggling ring, which allegedly supplies the Balkans, has been smashed, Italian police have said.
Italy's anti-Mafia police said on Thursday they had cracked the ring after a three-year investigation involving police from Europe, Russia and the Ukraine.
The network, run by Russian and Ukrainian groups, had allegedly supplied thousands of tonnes of weapons to the Balkans in the early 1990s, especially the Croatian army, when the... (GunPolicy.org)
German Troops Accused of Smuggling Guns from Kosovo
5 February 2001
Independent (UK)
German troops in the Balkans are smuggling lorry-loads of weapons into Western Europe, some of which could be finding their way to terrorists and criminal gangs.
According to Der Spiegel magazine, a German army sergeant-major was convicted of gun-running last November, while a major, a captain and two sergeants are about to go on trial on 10,094 counts of illicit handling of explosives and 7,144 violations of gun laws. They are alleged to have smuggled truck-loads of... (GunPolicy.org)
Albania to Destroy 100,000 Weapons Looted in 1997
7 September 2000
CNN
TIRANA — Albania is to collect and destroy 100,000 small arms from civilians who stole them from army depots during the pyramid selling crisis that rocked the country in 1997.
The United States, Germany and Norway will assist in the massive weapons destruction programme which is expected to take two years to complete, officials said.
More than 600,000 weapons were looted in the anarchy caused when fraudulent pyramid schemes collapsed, wiping out the savings of... (GunPolicy.org)
Vatican Protests Over 'Holy' Gun
7 December 1999
Times (UK)
Vatican officials protested yesterday against the use of the term "Jubilee" or "Holy Year" as the brand name for the latest 12-bore, doublebarrelled Beretta shotgun, declaring that the Pope was against the use of firearms and had not given his blessing to "this marketing ploy".
Italians call the millennium Il Gubileo (the Jubilee), a reference to the fact that the Pope has declared 2000 a "Holy Year".
The Vatican has allowed the use of the papal logo on officially... (GunPolicy.org)
Vatican Suicide Raises Security Fears for Holy Year
27 August 1999
Reuters
VATICAN CITY — The suicide of a man who managed to smuggle a gun into St Peter's Basilica has raised security concerns for the church and Vatican City four months before the start of the Holy Year.
During the millennium celebrations, which begin officially next December 24 and end on January 6, 2001, Rome is expecting to welcome some 30 million visitors, about five times the number who come to the capital in a normal year.
Most of them will want above all to go to... (GunPolicy.org)
Arms Smugglers Used Charity as Cover
4 May 1999
Times (UK)
Italian police yesterday said they had uncovered a Kosovo arms smuggling operation involving lorries disguised as aid agency vehicles and papers forged by Bosnian Muslims sympathetic to the Kosovo Liberation Army.
Police and customs officials discovered 30 tonnes of weapons destined for the KLA hidden in lorries bearing a symbol forged to look like that of the Roman Catholic aid agency Caritas. The arms, including grenade-launchers, anti-tank weapons and anti-aircraft... (GunPolicy.org)
31 January 1999
Cyprus Mail
GUN and hunting licence regulations are to be tightened in an effort to reduce the number of shooting accidents and halt the slaughter of protected birds.
The proposed new legislation enjoys the support of both hunters and environmentalists, although the latter stress that it would not be enough in itself.
Champion of the new bill is firebrand Diko deputy Marios Matsakis, who believes the current state of play concerning gun and hunting licences is a recipe for... (GunPolicy.org)
United Nations Launches Project to Recover Looted Weapons
26 January 1999
Inter Press Service News Agency / CNN
The United Nations is launching its first full-scale project to disarm a country's civilian population.
A pilot project is to be implemented in the district of Gramsh in Albania where the U.N. Development Program (UNDP) plans to spend about $500,000 on encouraging villagers to surrender their weapons. It will later be expanded to cover the whole of Albania.
The UNDP expects roughly 10,000 weapons — mostly assault rifles and pistols — to be handed over in the first... (GunPolicy.org)
Lea el artículo entero : Inter Press Service News Agency / CNN
Greek Police Seize Hoard of Smuggled US Arms
20 January 1999
Reuters
ATHENS — Greek authorities have confiscated a hoard of illegal arms smuggled from the United States with a value of about $540,000, the Finance Ministry said on Wednesday.
Two Greek-Americans and one Greek-Canadian were arrested in the operation, which was conducted by the ministry's special economic crime force.
The stockpile included hundreds of Smith & Wesson, Ruger and Jennings pistols, as well as bullets, in the back of a freezer lorry. "The illegal arms came... (GunPolicy.org)
UNDP Supports Arms Collection Program in Albania
19 January 1999
Xinhua
UNITED NATIONS — The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) has started a "weapons for development" program in Albania's Gramsch district, a release from the agency said on Tuesday.
The program encourages Albanians to turn in illegal small arms in exchange for social services, improved infrastructure and development assistance.
According to the Government of Albania, the Gramsch district has one of the highest concentrations of weapons in the country. There are... (GunPolicy.org)
United Nations Program to Encourage Albanians to Give Up Weapons
12 January 1999
Associated Press
TIRANA, Albania — Trying a new tactic in the war against guns, the United Nations intends to offer telephones and better roads to encourage Albanians to turn in more than a half million illegal weapons.
U.N. officials are not sure the aid programs will provide the key to eliminating illegal weapons in a country described in a recent U.N. report as the "Land of the Kalashnikov."
But they feel they must keep trying. Having so many weapons in a nation of 3 million... (GunPolicy.org)
No Phone, No Problem; Albanian Summons Help With Anti-Aircraft Gun
17 November 1998
Associated Press
TIRANA, Albania — Phones are hard to come by in remote Albania, so a quick-thinking villager used what was handy to summon help when he witnessed a serious accident — he fired off his anti-aircraft machine gun.
Police appreciated the gesture enough to not arrest the man for possessing the heavy weapon but still confiscated the gun, newspapers reported Tuesday.
The incident took place on the national highway near Gramsh, 45 miles south of Tirana, when a truck drove... (GunPolicy.org)
Albanian Girl, 13, Kills Father's Murderer and Son
6 October 1998
Reuters
TIRANA — A 13-year-old Albanian girl shot dead her father's alleged murderer in a revenge shooting in which the victim's six-year-old son, playing nearby, was also killed, a newspaper reported on Tuesday.
"Send best regards to my father," the girl, Entela Miloku, told Fran Fufi before opening fire on him with a Kalashnikov rifle which she had concealed in her baby brother's pram.
The Gazeta Shqiptare newspaper said the shooting took place in the northern town of... (GunPolicy.org)