Two individuals were detained last week on Barcenillas Street in Malaga, suspected of involvement in acquiring firearms abroad, bringing them into Spain, and manipulating them. According to today’s report from the Civil Guard, the inquiry facilitated a seizure during a secret workshop discovered inside a residence. Among the seized items were 18 firearms, including five submachine guns, six pistols, six revolvers, and a semi-automatic tactical shotgun, along with related materials tied to the operation. Also recovered were ammunition and other ready-to-use components that posed a danger to both law enforcement personnel and nearby citizens. The operation highlighted the seriousness of the clandestine activities and the urgency of the arrests and searches that followed. The two suspects were remanded in custody as part of the ongoing investigation.
These regional actions began earlier in the year through a concerted effort that leveraged international police cooperation to trace a Malaga resident who had acquired a variety of state-of-the-art pistols in an Eastern European country. The report identifies that these weapons, chambered primarily for the 9×19 Parabellum round and initially configured for lethality, had been recalibrated to meet local specifications in an attempt to circumvent controls. In Spain, firearms possession requires a license issued by the relevant authorities, a point underscored by officials who noted that this was not an isolated incident. The paperwork and procurement patterns indicate a deliberate process to revert weapons to their original calibers, a workflow that has become a notable source of illegal firearms in Europe.
Investigators from the Civil Guard’s Information Center (UCE3) determined that the ID used to purchase these weapons was falsified through the use of computer tools, leading to the identification of a Malaga capital resident with no firearms license. The inquiry also uncovered that the initial purchase was part of a larger scheme, with the suspect aided by a sibling to forge as many as seven DNIs (national identity documents) to obtain substantial quantities of firearms and ammunition across several European countries, including Slovakia, the Czech Republic, and France.
The Civil Guard outlined that the weapons recovered included submachine guns categorized as war implements, pistols, and revolvers. Their compact size and the high likelihood of concealment make them particularly attractive to criminal networks seeking rapid-fire capability. In addition to firearms and ammunition, investigators found a collection of tools and equipment typical of a clandestine workshop: a drilling rig, a vertical column grinder, and assorted accessories used in the construction or refurbishment of weapons. A soundproof cabin containing high-value items—estimated at around 6,000 euros for professional use of substantial scale—was located, with devices that allowed testing and discharge of weapons from within the residence without alerting neighbors.
Beyond the arsenal and the hidden workshop, authorities recovered three electric shock devices concealed as mobile phones, 895 metal cartridges of various calibers, raw projectiles suitable for artisanal production, numerous pistol and submachine gun magazines, copies of third-party identities and false identities, along with a range of computer equipment and documents used for operational planning. The overall discovery paints a chilling picture of a well-organized network engaged in the illicit acquisition, modification, and distribution of firearms, with potential implications for cross-border criminal activity and public safety across the region.