Firearm News
Spain,United States,Greece,Italy,Turkey,France,Syria
Europol Dismantles Spain/Syria/Libya Gun Trafficking Network
11 October 2016
EFE News Agency
A huge haul of arms and drugs was seized from a trafficking network run by Syrian nationals, Spain's police said Tuesday.
A total of 109 people were arrested and 100 tons of hashish, 11,400 firearms, over a million ammunition rounds and 10 tons of explosives were seized in an international operation against a trafficking network that sold drugs to arm jihadist groups in countries like Libya.
The joint operation was carried out by security forces from Spain, Italy,... (GunPolicy.org)
European Union,Albania,Bosnia & Herzegovina,Bulgaria,Croatia,Greece,Kosovo,Macedonia,Montenegro,Serbia,Turkey
European Commission Tightens Gun Control Across the EU
18 November 2015
European Commission - Press release
The European Commission today adopted a package of measures to make it more difficult to acquire firearms in the European Union, better track legally held firearms, strengthen cooperation between Member States, and ensure that deactivated firearms are rendered inoperable. The proposals presented today were foreseen in the European Security Agenda adopted in April 2015, but have been significantly accelerated in light of recent events. The Commission is hereby supporting... (GunPolicy.org)
Three Dead After Estranged Greek Husband Shoots Family, Self
19 June 2014
Xinhua
NICOSIA - A 40-year-old Cypriot man shot his estranged wife and two under-aged children and then turned the gun on himself, the police said on Wednesday.
A police source said the man had called his estranged wife to talk and they met on mid-afternoon Wednesday in a busy Nicosia suburb, but he started shooting with an army-issued assault rifle when the meeting developed into a shouting argument.
He then took his own life by shooting himself in the head, the police... (GunPolicy.org)
Greek MPs May Testify in Firearms, Organised Crime Trial
20 February 2014
Athens Macedonian News Agency
Examining magistrates for Golden Dawn (Chryssi Avghi) case requested on Thursday from the Greek parliament to lift the immunity of the Golden Dawn MPs not pending trial.
The two magistrates, Ioanna Klapa and Maria Dimitrokali, ask the lifting of the deputies' immunity in order to testify on the charges of participating and running a criminal organisation.
Moreover, they estimated that additional charges should be pressed against the already accused MPs Giorgos... (GunPolicy.org)
Greek Army Major Sentenced Over Unlicensed Guns at Home
25 November 2013
Ekathimerini (Greece)
A Greek army major was given a suspended 20-month jail sentence after weapons and Golden Dawn-related material was found at his home.
A military tribunal in Larissa, central Greece, gave the 51-year-old a term that is suspended for three years after several unlicensed guns were found at his home.
A number of Nazi-themed books and items bearing the emblem of the 1967-74 military dictatorship were also discovered at the property.
The major also had a Golden Dawn... (GunPolicy.org)
Greece,Sierra Leone,Libya,Ukraine
Ukraine Confirms Permit Issued for Guns Seized En Route to Libya
12 November 2013
Ukrainian Journal
KIEV – The State Service of Export Controls of Ukraine has confirmed the issuing of a one-time permit to Ukrspecexport subsidiary Ukrinmash State Enterprise for the supply of small arms ammunition to Libya, noting however that they have no information about the specific content of the military cargo on board of the Sierra Leone-flagged Nour M ship, which was detained in Greece.
"In 2013, after inter-agency coordination, the State Service of Export Control of Ukraine... (GunPolicy.org)
Sierra Leone,Greece,Ukraine,Syria,Libya,Turkey
Greek Coastguard Halts Ship Carrying 20,000 Kalashnikovs
8 November 2013
Greek Reporter
According to sources, the cargo ship "nourm" flagged with Sierra Leone, transferred a large amount of weapons. It was identified yesterday evening near Imia and was escorted to the port of Symi this morning.
After an investigation, the cargo ship had troubled the authorities in the past for drug trafficking and when the port board appeared, changed its direction.
Eventually, the ship stopped and was led to the port of Symi, under the port escort. The ship had started... (GunPolicy.org)
Greeks Fear More Gun Violence After Golden Dawn Members Shot Dead
3 November 2013
Today's Zaman (Istanbul)
A brazen drive-by shooting that killed two young members of Greece's far-right Golden Dawn party has shocked Greeks and prompted soul-searching about whether the crisis-hit country is slipping into a "cycle of violence."
Greece's anti-terrorism force is investigating whether Friday's rush hour shooting outside the party's offices in Athens was retaliation for a fatal stabbing of an anti-fascism rapper by a Golden Dawn supporter in September, police said.
Rapper Pavlos... (GunPolicy.org)
Officials Investigate Greek Man's Alleged Gun Cache, Neo-Nazi Links
16 October 2013
Ekathimerini (Greece)
An investigation into fugitive businessman Anastasios Pallis, a former associate of shipowner Victor Restis, continued on Wednesday, after police officers confiscated dozens of weapons from his residence in Voula, southern Athens, late on Tuesday.
The probe was being conducted after retired British Army officer Edward Pringle-Stacey, who worked with Pallis, suggested to police that the businessmen had in his possession some 4,000 weapons, which may have been linked to... (GunPolicy.org)
13 Injured After Celebratory Gunfire at Greek Wedding Goes Wrong
27 August 2013
Ekathimerini (Greece)
Thirteen people were being treated at the general hospital of Larissa, central Greece, on Tuesday for gunshot injuries suffered at a wedding on Monday night at the Roma camp of Nea Smyrni.
The 13 people, among whom are several children, received a range of minor injuries when one of the wedding guests, a 44-year-old man, tried to fire his hunting rifle into the air when the weapon backfired.
The 44-year-old has been arrested, while authorities are also seeking his... (GunPolicy.org)
Greek Police Find Over 11,000 Ammo Rounds, 6 Guns at Two Homes
9 August 2013
Ekathimerini (Greece)
A 65-year-old man was charged on Friday with illegal possession of ammunition as authorities sought his 67-year-old brother after 11,055 bullets and six guns were found at two apartments owned by the men.
Police also discovered other weapons, including a sword, at the properties in Holargos, northeastern Athens, and Petralona, southern Athens.
They raided the property in Holargos earlier in the week after a tip-off that ammunition was being stored there.
The... (GunPolicy.org)
Greek Police Find Suspected Gun Dealer During Hunt for Missing Girl
30 July 2013
Ekathimerini (Greece)
Police searching for a missing 16-year-old girl in the Athens neighborhood of Dafni stumbled upon an arms cache and arrested a 44-year-old man they believe may be a weapons dealer.
Officers searched an apartment block in the area on suspicion that the teenager had been there with a 29-year-old convicted murderer and rapist who escaped recently from Grevena Prison.
They found traces that the fugitive and the 16-year-old had been in the building's underground... (GunPolicy.org)
Greek Politician's Airport Gun Gaffe Prompts Gun License Review
31 May 2013
Washington Post / Associated Press
ATHENS, Greece — A Greek extreme far-right lawmaker who wanted to travel with his licensed handgun on a domestic flight drew unwanted attention after the firearm accidentally went off during check-in procedures Thursday. Police said nobody was hurt in the incident in a secluded area of Athens International Airport.
But the gaffe drew broad condemnation from mainstream parties and prompted a quick government decision to review all gun licenses granted to members of... (GunPolicy.org)
Greek Speaker Reminds MPs No Guns in Govt
20 May 2013
Ekathimerini (Greece)
Parliamentary speaker Evangelos Meimarakis has spoken to the representatives of all parties to remind them that no MPs should carry guns in the House, it emerged on Monday.
Meimarakis acted after receiving a letter of complaint from New Democracy MP Fotini Pipili, who said that some lawmakers are armed when they enter Parliament.
There have been reports in the past of Golden Dawn MPs being stopped for carrying guns into the House and an Eleftherotypia report on Monday... (GunPolicy.org)
Arms Packages Intercepted at Greek Airport
22 March 2013
Ekathimerini
Police at Iraklio airport on Crete on Friday intercepted two packages containing arms that a 50-year-old man had attempted to send to Thessaloniki and Corfu.
The contents of the packages were detected during a security scan. The packages contained two air guns, two flare launchers, a taser gun and 100 cartridges.
The 50-year-old suspect was detained for questioning while the would-be recipients of the two packages were being sought.
Last November, police intercepted... (GunPolicy.org)
Greek MP Wants Firearms Crackdown, MPs Requesting More Gun Permits
14 December 2012
Guardian (UK)
An independent MP has called for a crackdown on firearms in Greece amid allegations that a growing number of politicians are carrying weapons.
Reports of pistol-carrying deputies entering parliament have added to the febrile mood in a 300-member chamber in which hardcore Marxists sit with fascists, eurocommunists, rightwing populists, conservatives, socialists and an array of independent dissidents.
The MP, Nikos Nikolopoulos, told the Guardian he was "deeply worried"... (GunPolicy.org)
Greeks Buy Weapons to Fight Crime During Economic Austerity
16 August 2012
BBC News
Greece's faltering economy has put many people out of work and cut support for illegal immigrants. Now Greeks are facing a rise in crime their police seem unable to stop.
It probably never occurred to Niki Yanakopoulou that she might be in danger as she let herself into her central Athens apartment building in the middle of the day.
The 75-year-old had just been to the bank and police say the man who followed her home most likely chose her at random, hoping she would... (GunPolicy.org)
Bosnia & Herzegovina,Croatia,Eastern Europe,Romania,Greece,Bulgaria,Moldova,Macedonia,Serbia
Balkan Countries Loaded With Illegal Firearms
8 August 2012
Southeast European Times
Southeast Europe's are heavily armed – according to the South Eastern and Eastern Europe Clearinghouse for the Control of Small Arms and Light Weapons, people in the region legally own 3 million firearms and another 4 million illegal weapons.
Serbia leads the region in weapons, according to Ivan Cvijovic, police inspector at the public order sector of the Belgrade police department. The rate of registered firearms per 100 people is 15.81.
Montenegro has 14.36... (GunPolicy.org)
Greek Police Charge Alleged Smugglers Running Guns from US to Crete
30 June 2012
Athens News (Greece)
An arms-smuggling ring bringing weapons from the United States to Greece, with Crete as their main destination, was caught in a joint operation set up by the Attica police Organised Crime department and the U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement service.
The three men arrested during the operation in Greece were led before a Zakynthos first-instance court prosecutor on Saturday to face criminal charges.
The three suspects were arrested on Friday during coordinated... (GunPolicy.org)
Redundant Man Turns Hunting Rifle on His Former Employer in Greece
5 March 2012
Gulf News (Dubai) / Reuters
KOMOTINI - After more than 30 years as a factory worker, Dimitris Manikas was dreaming of retirement and planned to get married for the third time when a redundancy notice blew his hopes away.
Laid off from his job at a trash can factory in this northern Greek town, the 52-year-old father of two called off his wedding. Without any income, he feared his house would be next to go.
Driven to despair, Manikas on Thursday barged into the factory whose name he had tattooed... (GunPolicy.org)