French police announced on Friday the dismantling of a major network of arms traffickers in the Lyon region.
In total, 13 people were arrested in France and one in Portugal.
These individuals are suspected of having stolen several hundred weapons from armories in France and Switzerland.
After drug trafficking and burglaries, they decided to branch out ... into guns.
On Friday, French police announced the dismantling, carried out earlier this week, of a major network of arms traffickers in the Lyon region.
In total, around fifteen individuals, whose group is suspected of breaking and entering several armories in the Rhône-Alpes region and in Switzerland, were brought to justice on Friday after their custody or will soon be. .
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300 weapons stolen
Also known to the police for acts of violence, the thugs stole no less than 300 weapons of all types and calibers.
These rifles and pistols were then sold in the middle of organized crime in Lyon and to big dealers in sensitive cities.
An arrest also took place in Portugal.
This concerns a 30-year-old Frenchman against whom a European arrest warrant had been issued.
240,000 euros found in cash
In September 2020, the Central Office dedicated to the fight against organized crime (OCLCO) and the Rhône research section were seized after an increase in burglaries of armories in France and Switzerland.
The investigation determined that the criminals were from the Lyon region and formed "a team of drawers with a hard core and logistical help".
Justice therefore mobilized the judicial police and the gendarmerie to put an end to this network.
To challenge them, several elite units such as the Raid, the BRI and the GIGN were mobilized.
With, therefore, 13 arrests to the key in France.
During a search, the police and gendarmes found a lot of cash: 240,000 euros in total.
In contrast, only a handful of weapons were seized.
The hundreds of other flocks are still in the wild.