At the end of March this year, the police suspected that a couple of people in Uppsala were involved in doping offences. During the course of the investigation, new suspicions arose, but this time something more serious: an illegal weapons factory.
– In one of the mobile phones we seized there were pictures of weapons. It made us look further into it, says prosecutor Jenny Örn.
Looking for weapons on other matters
According to the police, the weapons must have been manufactured in a workshop in Uppsala over a two-year period. At least five weapons have been produced there, according to the prosecutor, but there may be more.
– We do not rule it out. Although we have been investigating this since last spring, we are far from finished, she says.
Jenny Örn does not want to go into what type of weapon it is.
– It is not a matter of rebuilt starting pistols, but it has happened from the ground up. They have since been resold. In legal language, they are considered to be “of a particularly dangerous nature”.
Suspect: Extremely serious weapons crime
Two men from Uppsala are in custody on suspicion of particularly serious weapons offences. Both deny the criminal charges.
In addition to continued interrogations, the police are now working closely with the National Forensic Center (NFC), where all the country’s weapon seizures are analysed. This is to identify any additional weapons that can be connected to the workshop in Uppsala.
– We have found other cases where these weapons are present, and it concerns, among other things, shootings, says Jenny Örn.
Are there connections to any specific network or conflict?
– I cannot comment on that. We investigate widely and try to find out what motives are behind it.
In the clip above: The police found a suspected weapons factory – now they are looking for the weapons.