Firearm News
Fewer Firearms in Portuguese Homes
25 September 2021
Diario de Noticias (Portugal)
New licences decrease every year
PSP estimates that there are fewer firearms in the home, taking into account those voluntarily surrendered and new weapons acquired, but stresses that this decrease "may not constitute a trend" due to the pandemic.
In an assessment made to Lusa news agency regarding the two years of the entry into force of the weapons law, which aims to limit the number of firearms in the home, the Public Security Police said that "there has been a... (GunPolicy.org)
Portugal Breaks Records in the Seizure of Weapons and Explosives in 2018
20 February 2019
Observador (Portugal)
PSP bate recordes na apreensão de armas e explosivos em 2018
De acordo com os dados da PSP, além da apreensão, o número de armas entregues voluntariamente em 2018 também aumentou. Armas de caça ocupam a maior parte das apreensões (40%).
Só em 2018, a Polícia de Segurança Pública (PSP) apreendeu 8.979 armas, mais 200% em relação aos números de 2014 e uma média de 25 armas apreendidas por dia. No caso das munições, os números aumentaram 23%, de 71.121... (GunPolicy.org)
Portuguese Registries 'Lose' 1 Million Weapons
10 December 2017
CM Jornal (Portugal)
Em Portugal, há livretes que atestam a legalidade de mais de 1,5 milhões de armas de fogo. Mas a PSP, que está a atualizar estes registos, estima que, na realidade, apenas 300 mil armas existam de facto nestas condições. Ou seja, mais de um milhão de pistolas, revólveres ou caçadeiras, entre outras, estão 'desaparecidas' ou têm documentos duplicados ou foram registadas sem que existissem na realidade.
De acordo com fontes policiais contactadas pelo CM, muitas... (GunPolicy.org)
Portuguese Authorities Destroy Over 3,000 Guns [PT]
25 September 2013
TVI 24 (Portugal)
[Translated summary: Portuguese authorities destroyed 3,125 guns today, in the fourth official destruction this year. A total of 11,179 guns have been destroyed this year.]
O Departamento de Armas e Explosivos da Polícia de Segurança Pública (PSP) destruiu um total de 3.125 armas, sendo 2.800 de fogo e 325 classificadas como brancas, comunicou hoje a força de segurança.
Esta ação de destruição de armas, em estado de degradação, foi a quarta realizada este... (GunPolicy.org)
Estimates Suggest One in Three Portuguese Owns Legal Gun [PT]
2 August 2013
RTP, Video
[Translated summary: It is estimated that one in three Portuguese citizens has a gun at home, with 1.5 million legal guns registered with authorities. It is not known how many illegal guns exist. Police seized over 3,300 weapons in 2012.]
Em cada três portugueses um possui uma arma em casa. A Polícia apreendeu mais de 3300 armas em 2012. De acordo com o Diário de Notícias estão registados no Departamento de armas e explosivos da PSP quase milhão e meio de armas... (GunPolicy.org)
Portugal,Libya,United States,Guinea-Bissau,Colombia
Alleged FARC Scheme Swapped Cocaine for West African Arms
12 April 2013
InSight Crime (Bogota)
An international police operation has dismantled a network in which Colombian rebel group the FARC allegedly attempted to exchange cocaine for weapons from the West African nation of Guinea-Bissau.
The investigation, involving US, Colombian, Portuguese, and Guinea-Bissau authorities, lasted over a year, reported EFE. Colombian police arrested two men in Bogota who are accused of serving as as the FARC's intermediaries for the West Africa-based weapons suppliers.
On... (GunPolicy.org)
Ballistics Info Sharing Catches Major Crime Gang in Spain, Portugal
5 November 2012
PR Web (America), Media release
MONTREAL, Canada - A violent transnational gang, operating between Spain and Portugal, has been stopped thanks to diligent police work, rigorous cross border protocols, and an innovative new-technology-based program called the INTERPOL Ballistic Information Network (IBIN). IBIN proved its value when it counted most, on the streets of Portugal and Spain, where police using IBIS® (Integrated Ballistics Identification System) technology were able to share and leverage... (GunPolicy.org)
Gun Licence Applications Up 20%, More Gun Dealers Open in Portugal
25 February 2012
Portugal News
Licensing requests for guns have increased by 20 percent in Portugal in the past year, with the number of establishments selling firearms also increasing by 10 percent.
This in turn has led to the number of registered firearms having increased in Portugal, which currently has around 1.4 million licensed guns, 19,000 of which were licensed in the past year.
According to the President of the Security, Organised Crime and Terrorism Observatory (OSCOT) José Manuel Anes,... (GunPolicy.org)
Germany,United Kingdom,Portugal,China,United States,Europe
Gun Runner Turns on Licensed Dealers in UK/US/Europe Trafficking Case
10 February 2011
Associated Press
ROCHESTER, N.Y. - A sudden plea agreement in a federal prosecution of a trio of international weapons dealers has heightened momentum in a case that could shed light on the illicit global arms trade, including irregularities in U.S.-backed shipments of assault rifles to Iraq.
Gun dealer Karl Kleber, a German national who had been living in Portugal, pleaded guilty Wednesday in a U.S. district courtroom, admitting to violating federal arms laws in a scheme to import... (GunPolicy.org)
Turkey,Italy,Portugal,Netherlands,Europe
Italian Gas Guns Illegally Converted in Portugal to Arm European Criminals
19 November 2010
NRC Handelsblad (Rotterdam)
As the EU cracks down on firearms, illegal trafficking in altered alarm guns is booming on the Continent. They're cheap, easy to alter, impossible to trace – so they're becoming the criminal's weapon of choice.
At the age of 10, Massimo Tanfoglio was already packaging pistols in his father's factory. Now, age 57, he manages the Fratelli Tanfoglio firearms factory in Gardone Val Trompia, in northern Italy. Strolling down the streets of this small town, you'll see... (GunPolicy.org)
Gun Possession Rife in Portugal, Hunting Most Popular Reason
29 May 2010
Portugal News
These startling figures were released by the Centre for Social Studies (CES) of Coimbra University, who carried out a study regarding weapons in Portugal, which also pointed to hunting weapons as the preferred choice among Portuguese.
An analysis of the internal firearms trafficking and import figures showed that part of the illegal weapons being used in Portugal originated from the legal market: "between 2004 and 2007, 5,913 firearms were stolen or lost, an average of... (GunPolicy.org)
Portugal,Angola,Brazil,Cabo Verde,Guinea-Bissau,Mozambique,Sao Tome & Principe,Timor-Leste
Police Chiefs of Portuguese-speaking Nations Meet to Curb Gun Running
12 June 2009
Diario de Noticias (Lisbon)
CPLP (Community of Portuguese-Speaking Countries) police chiefs have created a committee to fight arms trafficking through tighter controls of legal arms sales.
The PSP (Portuguese Public Security Police) has suggested to the CPLP chiefs of police a harmonization of legislation relating to the trade and transport of firearms. The objective is to prevent the considerable number of weapons circulating legally between these countries falling into criminal hands.
The CPLP... (GunPolicy.org)
Europe,Germany,Portugal,Belgium,Finland,Switzerland
European Countries Tighten Gun Laws But More Needed, Say Experts
12 March 2009
Associated Press
School shootings and other gun crimes have spurred European governments to tighten their gun laws but the measures have been uneven across the continent, experts said Thursday.
Dramatic incidents, such as Wednesday's rampage by a 17-year-old gunman who killed 15 people at his former school in Germany, often jolt authorities into action.
Finland announced plans Wednesday to impose stricter restrictions on firearms, including raising the minimum age for handgun... (GunPolicy.org)
Germany,Europe,Finland,Belgium,Switzerland,Portugal,Denmark
Europe Hurries to Tighten Gun Laws After Mass Shooting Attacks
11 March 2009
Associated Press
HELSINKI — Several European countries have restricted gun laws in the wake of school massacres, gang violence and other gun-related crimes:
- Finland announced plans Wednesday to impose stricter restrictions on firearms, including raising the minimum age for handgun ownership from 15 to 20. The proposal was prompted by two school massacres within a year in which lone gunmen opened fire on classmates and teachers.
- Germany, where a gunman killed at least 11 people... (GunPolicy.org)
'Fanatic' Gun Collector Arrested in Portugal After On-line Surveillance
1 July 2006
Portugal News
Dozens of guns and other firearms were seized from an Olivais residence after the homeowner was tracked and investigated via the Internet by Lisbon police.
Upon raiding the suspect's residence, 21 short-barrelled pistols and revolvers were found along with seven long-barrelled shotguns, a military anti-tank machine gun, and some 15 thousand assorted rounds of ammunition.
The suspect, a 50-year-old man, was charged and arrested, though was later released on bail.
He is... (GunPolicy.org)
Gunman Kills Three, Wipes Out Village
22 January 2005
News24 (South Africa)
LISBON — A man shot dead three people, including his wife, in in northern Portugal before turning the gun on himself, the daily newspaper Correio da Manha reported Saturday.
The incident left the remote community of Sao Xisto with only three elderly survivors, two women and a man, who all said they now plan to move.
Witnesses said retired railway worker Augusto Vila Real, 60, shot his two neighbours, both in their 70s, outside of their home on Friday afternoon... (GunPolicy.org)
Teen Posed on Internet With Machine Gun, Drugs
21 January 2005
Agence France Presse
LISBON — Police in Portugal have arrested a teenager who set up a personal web page which featured photos of himself posing with a machine gun along with cash he said he obtained through crime — as well as his full name and mobile telephone number, a report said.
Marco Guerra, 17, told newsweekly Sabado he was charged with illegal possession of firearms and drugs after police searched the room he occupies in his parents house in suburban Lisbon.
"The police came... (GunPolicy.org)