Where are Illegal Weapons in Europe Coming from?

One of the many places illegal weapons in Europe come from is Bosnia.

Security expert says huge quantity of illegal firearms held in the country represents a threat to Bosnia’s security – and to the security of other countries as well.

Bosnians possess a worrying quantity of firearms, which potentially pose a threat to the country’s security, a Bosnian arms expert told BIRN on Tuesday.

“There are at least 750,000 illegal firearms in Bosnia … which basically means that statistically at least 20 per cent of Bosnian residents are armed,” Armin Krzalic, director of the Center for Security Studies in Sarajevo, said.

Krzalic said these weapons represent a danger for several reasons.

“First, they are often old and not reliable ; second, they are often stored in places which are not secured, where – for instance – children might find them; third, they are fueling the black market and organised crime,” Krzalic argued.

Although 750,000 firearms sounds a huge quantity for a country with less than 4 million inhabitants, another 350,000 firearms should be included in the total. These are legally declared weapons held by hunters, local N1 television reported on Tuesday.

According to Krzalic, the main problem for the authorities remains tracking the illegal weapons, which “are used in 95 per cent of recorded crimes”, he noted.

In their latest conflict assessment for Bosnia, published in 2015, the UN noted that illegally acquired weapons and ammunitions from Bosnia have also entered Western Europe, notably the UK, Scandinavia and France, endangering the security of other countries as well.