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Europol reports signs of arms smuggling from Ukraine

Author:
Anhelina Sheremet
Date:

Getty Images / «Babel'»

The European police body Europol reports signs of arms smuggling from Ukraine. There are cases of trade in firearms and military goods on the black market.

This information was confirmed to the German news agency DPA by the official representative of Europol, Jan Op Gen Oort, quoted by Der Spiegel.

"There is a risk that they [weapons and military goods] will end up in the hands of organized crime or terrorists," a Europol official said. Investigators from EU member states are also talking about signs of trade in heavy military weapons.

A Europol representative spoke of "alarming risks". According to him, it was recorded that people left Ukraine with firearms. There are also fears that weapons and ammunition are stored along the border for smuggling into the EU.

Before that, the German broadcaster SWR quoted a confidential Europol letter: according to investigators, criminal networks in the region carry out or plan to smuggle a significant amount of firearms and ammunition, including military weapons.