Spanish police dismantle illegal workshop

Spanish police have dismantled an illegal workshop that was using 3D printers to produce guns in Tenerife on the Canary Islands. Officers confiscated two printers, digital material used to produce arms components, several weapons and objects linked to white supremacy.

Santa Cruz: Spanish police have dismantled an illegal workshop that was using 3D printers to produce guns in Tenerife on the Canary Islands.

Pictures released on Sunday show officers carrying out a joint operation with the Spanish tax agency in September 2020. Announcing the results of the investigation on Sunday, police said the raid led to the arrest of one person.

Officers confiscated two printers, digital material used to produce arms components, several weapons and objects linked to white supremacy.

Authorities also highlighted the seizure of over 30 books, including what they described as a "terrorist manual". The investigation began online, when authorities detected movements by one person to acquire arms components and possible explosive substances.

According to the police report, 3D printing of weapons is part of a new emerging threat in illegal arms trafficking in Europe. The same report refers to a terrorist attack in Germany, in October 2019, where a Jewish synagogue was attacked with a rifle fabricated via a 3D printer.

AP