A FORMER solider has been arrested in Villajoyosa for operating a clandestine workshop where he upgraded weapons and made gunpowder and metal gun cartridges.
The 48-year-old man with ‘military experience abroad’ was detained in a Guardia Civil operation but his nationality has not been revealed.
Officers found more than 500 grams of home-made gunpowder and nearly four kilos of chemicals that the man used to make gunpowder at his home.
A total of 11 detonating weapons which had been adapted to fire bullets were also seized- several of them loaded and ready to be fired.
In addition a further 10 guns were removed which were in the process of being converted into real firearms.
Among the weapons cache was a MAC 11 sub-machine gun, manipulated to fire short 9 mm calibre bullets which is classified as a weapon of war and domestic ownership is prohibited.
The Guardia also seized more than 1,200 cartridge cases and projectiles; a cartridge reloading press and other accessories; and almost 300 completed to ready to use cartridges.
The investigation began in May 2023 when the Guardia Civil heard about suspicious transactions of explosive material from the Intelligence Centre against Terrorism and Organized Crime (CITCO).
