Europol sounds alarm over 3D-printed weapons

European police agency Europol yesterday warned of a "current and future threat" from 3D-printed weapons, an increasing number of which have been seized across the continent.

"The threat posed by 3D-printed weapons is very much on the radar of Europol, amid the growing number of such firearms being seized in investigations across Europe in recent years," it said in a statement.

Europol, which invited more than 120 law-enforcement professionals, ballistic experts, forensic scientists, policymakers and academics to a special conference in The Hague this week, said international cooperation was "crucial to be able to counter the threat".

In 2019, two people were shot dead in Halle, Germany, by an attacker using a homemade weapon. It was partly manufactured with a 3D printer using a blueprint downloaded from the internet, Europol said.

In April 2021, Spanish police raided and dismantled an illegal workshop for 3D-printed weapons in the Canary Islands, seizing two 3D printers, gun parts, a replica assault rifle and several manuals on urban guerrilla warfare and white supremacist literature.

The owner of the workshop was arrested and charged with illegal possession of weapons.