A retired neighbor in Barcelona accumulated over the years an illegal arsenal consisting of about 196 firearms, most of which are lethal and forbidden for civilians. Only the military or security forces can legally destroy certain weapons. The collection included machine guns, assault rifles, and dozens of rifles and pistols, some with significant historical value that had seen use in warlike conflicts such as civil wars or world wars.
An individual with a collector’s license may keep war weapons at home as long as it complies with the law. In this case, the man was elderly and described as disabled. The issue arose because he purchased the weapons unused but knew how to rehabilitate them. He maintained a secret workshop at home, equipped with the tools needed to make the firearms operable again.
He and another retiree also manufactured their own ammunition because they could not legally buy bullets for firearms they did not own, and several calibers required by the older rifles or pistols were no longer available on the legal market. About 15,000 cartridges were ready to be fired.
historical weapons
One of the oldest items in the suspect’s collection is a pointed shotgun, a patented XIX century model with Casimir Lefaucheux. It predates Lefaucheux’s model, and some blunderbuss or bayonet rifles, possibly dating from banditry times or even farther back, are also forbidden because blade extensions on firearms are not allowed and have unclear histories.
Civil Guard agents also found a house linked to this Barcelona resident, whose profession investigators chose not to reveal. The Thompson submachine gun is iconic for him, a weapon prevalent in gangster films. Eliot Ness’s Untouchables references echo in the public imagination, with a similar image to the invincible figure who faced danger in cinematic portrayals.
Among the seized items are many long-barreled pistols resembling those used by soldiers in World War II, and three military machine guns that require a tripod to support their weight and recoil.
Commander Miguel Angel Quesada Olmo, the arms controller, disclosed some aspects of the investigation. Officers will determine whether there is an intent to sell some of the guns and will work to verify the provenance and authenticity of each piece. If confirmed, each item would tell a part of this unusual story.
One of the most striking items is the Labora Fontbernat M-1938 rifle, a Catalan model produced in Olot at the start of the civil war. An inscription on the metal reads: “Catalonian War Industries. Fonbernat 1038.” Investigators explained at a press conference that it is not possible to shoot with the oldest weapons because older models such as blunderbusses are no longer safe.
The other two detainees
Civil Guards scrutinized this illegal arsenal as part of Operation Dux, a crackdown that began two years ago after intelligence officials detected the online sale of prohibited weapons. The only person who has been arrested so far is a man from Bilbao along with another from Jaén. Investigations continue with residents of Madrid and a town in Vizcaya.
The detainees face charges including arms smuggling, storage of weapons, storage of war weapons, ammunition storage, explosive storage, and possession of illegally prohibited weapons. Regarding the ultimate destination of the weapons, investigators suspect some entries may have involved illicit markets as well as potential collection efforts by others involved in the case.