In total, ten people are suspected of having participated in a vast arms trafficking in France involving soldiers.

They were indicted for "acquisition, possession, transfer and transport in assembly of weapons of categories A and B (weapons of war and handguns) in assembly" and "association of criminals".

Five other men were indicted on Saturday and imprisoned, bringing to ten the number of people suspected of having participated in a vast arms trafficking in France involving soldiers, we learned from a judicial source.

Three men aged 29, 30 and 52, were remanded in custody, according to the same source.

A 31-year-old soldier, assigned to a base in eastern France, and a 44-year-old former soldier will be presented to a judge of freedoms and detention (JLD) in the coming days, after having requested a deadline for prepare their defense.

They have been imprisoned pending this debate.

In all, ten suspects were indicted for "acquisition, possession, transfer and transport in assembly of weapons of categories A and B (weapons of war and handguns) in assembly" and "association of criminals".

On Friday, five suspects were brought to justice: a 31-year-old soldier who works at the Ministry of Defense, and a 57-year-old man.

They were remanded in custody. 

A judge is due to rule within the week on the detention of a 31-year-old former soldier and a 30-year-old man, who also requested time to prepare their defense and who have been detained pending.

A fifth 25-year-old has been placed under judicial supervision.

"A completely exceptional stock of arms and ammunition"

The ten men were arrested Tuesday in Ile-de-France, in the east and the south of France by the brigade of repression of banditry (BRB), on rogatory commission of an investigating judge of the specialized interregional jurisdiction from Paris.

They are suspected of having supplied weapons to drug traffickers and supporters of the ultra-right. 

"It is a file of a certain magnitude" with "a quite exceptional stock of arms and ammunition which was seized", considered during a debate before the JLD the representative of the public prosecutor.

In the team, some suspects bought from private collectors assault rifles, automatic pistols, machine guns rendered inoperative, according to TF1, which had revealed the crackdown.

"This arsenal was then made active again, remilitarized, before being sold on the black market to the highest bidders," the chain said.