PARIS, February 6 The French gendarmerie has uncovered an international criminal network for the sale of weapons made using 3D printers, the Monde newspaper reports.
““Three hundred gendarmes were deployed to detain fourteen people and seize eight 3D printers, seven weapons made exclusively with 3D printing, and twenty-four conventional weapons,” the article said.
According to Marseille prosecutor Nicolas Besson, quoted by the publication, this is the “first in France” network of this kind. In addition, he expressed concern about the “Uberization of the arms trade.”
It is noted that the investigation was conducted for a year under the leadership of the cyber unit of the gendarmerie. Investigators infiltrated groups of criminals on Telegram, which allowed them to expose the network, whose activities spread to the French regions of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, Ile-de-France, Grand Est, Midi-Pyrénées, as well as Belgium.
Some of the detainees were engaged in the manufacture of weapons, while others acted as intermediaries with buyers who were also detained. To avoid inspections, parts of manufactured weapons were sent to the customer one by one.
According to Colonel Hervé Petrie, who heads the cyber unit, the weapons produced in this way are of very good quality, they are “95% close to the original model” and cannot be traced. The price for it can vary from 1000 to 1500 euros, which is “cheaper than a Kalashnikov assault rifle,” the prosecutor clarifies.
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