More guns heading to Denmark’s borders

More customs agents needed to stop the flow

May 13, 2015

More guns are heading to Danish borders, according to figures from the customs department of tax authority Skat.

Customs agents found 90 guns, some of which were gun parts, at border controls in Denmark last year. That’s almost triple the 33 they found the year before.

“We at Skat are finding an increasing number of weapons, partially because we now operate in another way,” Preben Buchholtz, an executive at Skat, told Metroxpress newspaper.

On top of the guns – which are often taken apart and sent in different packages – Skat found 38 batons, 109 stabbing weapons and 602 other types of weapons.

“Some of the weapons – such as knuckledusters, knives and ninja throwing stars – are souvenirs that people try to bring home, but there are also criminal elements who try to being weapons across the border,” explained Buchholtz.

Need more agents
Denmark works closely with Norway and Sweden to stop weapons smuggling, and the Swedes recently lamented the low number of Denmark’s customs agents, which currently stands at around 150.

“It’s far too easy to smuggle weapons into Denmark,” said Jørn Rise, the head of the Danish customs and tax association Dansk Told & Skatteforbund.

“Gangs and terrorists can easily get hold of weapons today. If we had as many customs agents as in Norway or Sweden, it would be far more difficult.”

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