MADRID, Jan. 23 (Xinhua) -- The Spanish Civil Guards announced on Monday that they have arrested 46 people and recovered around 250 firearms as part of an operation which has seen a total of 246 arrests and 664 illegal firearms seized all over Europe.
The Europol-coordinated operation saw arrests carried out in 46 searches in a total of 18 Spanish provinces, with 247 firearms and 23,000 cartridges discovered.
Meanwhile, the operation saw the dismantling of four clandestine weapon workshops, while two internet websites illegally selling weapons were also shut down. Two illegal marijuana plantations were discovered and destroyed.
The Civil Guard said that those arrested acquired replica weapons on a "massive" scale in eastern Europe and then used the workshops to convert them into fully functioning weapons.
They also explained that the operation means a great number of previously unknown weapons will not now reach the black market where they "could have been used to commit crimes" or reach extremist cells.
