Spanish police raid nets 10,000 illegal weapons

Spanish police have seized a huge arsenal of illegal weapons from an organised crime group.

On Tuesday, investigators released images of the guns and ammunition that were confiscated in January during an operation against firearms traffickers, reports the EFE news agency.

The weapons were impounded in the northern Spanish provinces of Vizcaya, Gerona and Cantabria during a joint operation with Europol, the European anti-crime organisation, said a Spanish police spokesperson on Tuesday.

They include 10,000 assault rifles, machine guns, pistols, revolvers and 400 shells and grenades.

Police also found an illegal workshop near Bilbao equipped with machinery to reactivate weapons. Five people were arrested.

Cash totalling 80,000 euros ($112,000) was also seized in the raids.

Police in Spain said without their intervention the weapons would have had an easy route to the black market and into the hands of terrorists or organised crime groups.

Reactivating decommissioned weapons is one of Europe's largest sources of illegal firearms.