More than 900 weapons and pieces of ammunition were seized after a global crackdown on gun traffickers.
A joint operation by police forces across Europe led to more than 42,000 parcels checked for weapons.
Six firearms, 13 firearms parts, 600 items of ammunition and 297 other weapons, including knives, pepper spray and Tasers, were seized.
In Operation Armstrong VII police and customs authorities from 26 countries united, with the international co-ordination supported by crime agency Europol and the European Commission.
"The use of fast parcels or parcel mail has been identified as a key modus operandi for firearms trafficked to and within the EU," Europol said.
"Europol has been actively involved from the onset of this operation by collecting intelligence from all participating partners on firearms and ammunition seized from postal packages from November 2019 until October 2020.
"This intelligence was used as input to identify risk indicators that were shared with law enforcement to prioritise checks and identify packages possibly containing firearms or firearms-related commodities."
The operation targeted the trafficking of firearms to and within the EU through post and courier services. Police and customs authorities in the participating countries carried out enhanced controls of suspicious parcels and postal shipments after months of surveillance of dark web transactions.
"During the action week, Europol set up a virtual command centre and provided a platform for real-time information sharing and cross-checking of intelligence, creating a communication network involving police and custom authorities," the crime agency said.
"Information collected and shared during the action days will be processed and analysed in the post-operational phase, during which concerned countries will be duly informed about any relevant outcomes."
Europol said criminals exploited the differences in legislation in various countries, whereby firearms or firearms components restricted in one country can be ordered easily and openly from another through the internet.
As a result, firearms are frequently traded on online platforms, including dark web marketplaces.
"This development has resulted in a significant increase in the use of parcel and postal services to traffic firearms and firearm components," Europol said.
"With millions and millions of parcels crossing the borders, finding the particular shipments containing firearms and other prohibited items constitutes a sizeable challenge for police and customs and other law enforcement authorities across Europe.
"In this endeavour, the key success-defining factor is intelligence: knowing what to look for and where and when they'd arrive based on emerging new trends. This can only be achieved through active and continuous operation between police and customs and the private industry, including post and express courier services."
Countries involved included the UK, Germany, the US and the Netherlands.
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Weiser (40')
Company: Instabug
Founded: 2013
Based: Egypt, Cairo
Sector: IT
Employees: 100
Stage: Series A
Investors: Flat6Labs, Accel, Y Combinator and angel investors
Company%20profile
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Name: Brendalle Belaza
From: Crossing Rubber, Philippines
Arrived in the UAE: 2007
Favourite place in Abu Dhabi: NYUAD campus
Favourite photography style: Street photography
Favourite book: Harry Potter
THE BIO
Family: I have three siblings, one older brother (age 25) and two younger sisters, 20 and 13
Favourite book: Asking for my favourite book has to be one of the hardest questions. However a current favourite would be Sidewalk by Mitchell Duneier
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Favorite place to go in the UAE: A quiet beach.
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Lamsa
Founder: Badr Ward
Launched: 2014
Employees: 60
Based: Abu Dhabi
Sector: EdTech
Funding to date: $15 million
The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre, 4-cylinder turbo
Transmission: CVT
Power: 170bhp
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Price: Dh98,900
Lexus LX700h specs
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Frankenstein in Baghdad
Ahmed Saadawi
Penguin Press
23-man shortlist for next six Hall of Fame inductees
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Always use only regulated platforms
Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion
Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)
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Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence
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Jonathan Gornall, Simon & Schuster
ELIO
Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett
Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina
Rating: 4/5
Review: Tomb Raider
Dir: Roar Uthaug
Starring: Alicia Vikander, Dominic West, Daniel Wu, Walter Goggins
two stars
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
Huddersfield Town permanent signings:
- Steve Mounie (striker): signed from Montpellier for £11 million
- Tom Ince (winger): signed from Derby County for £7.7m
- Aaron Mooy (midfielder): signed from Manchester City for £7.7m
- Laurent Depoitre (striker): signed from Porto for £3.4m
- Scott Malone (defender): signed from Fulham for £3.3m
- Zanka (defender): signed from Copenhagen for £2.3m
- Elias Kachunga (winger): signed for Ingolstadt for £1.1m
- Danny WIlliams (midfielder): signed from Reading on a free transfer
