Europe

Serbia police arrest 10 for arms trafficking; weapons found

Associated Press
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In this Tuesday, Nov. 15, 2016 photo provided by the Serbian Ministry of Interior, hand grenades seized by the Serbian police are boxed at an undisclosed location in northern Serbia, close to the country's border with Croatia. Serbian police said Wednesday Nov. 16 they have arrested 10 people suspected of arms-trafficking and seized the biggest quantity of weapons since 2000, including rocket launchers, anti-tank mines and automatic guns. (Serbian Ministry of Interior via AP) (The Associated Press)

In this Tuesday, Nov. 15, 2016 photo provided by the Serbian Ministry of Interior, explosives seized by the Serbian police are kept at an undisclosed location in northern Serbia, close to the country's border with Croatia. Serbian police said Wednesday Nov. 16 they have arrested 10 people suspected of arms-trafficking and seized the biggest quantity of weapons since 2000, including rocket launchers, anti-tank mines and automatic guns. (Serbian Ministry of Interior via AP) (The Associated Press)

In this Tuesday, Nov. 15, 2016 photo provided by the Serbian Ministry of Interior, a large collection of weapons seized by the Serbian police sits inside a trunk of a vehicle at an undisclosed location in northern Serbia, close to the country's border with Croatia. Serbian police said Wednesday Nov. 16 they have arrested 10 people suspected of arms-trafficking and seized the biggest quantity of weapons since 2000, including rocket launchers, anti-tank mines and automatic guns. (Serbian Ministry of Interior via AP) (The Associated Press)

Serbian police have arrested 10 people suspected of arms-trafficking and confiscated a large quantity of weapons, including rocket launchers and automatic guns.

Interior Minister Nebojsa Stefanovic said Wednesday that the arrests took place in northern Serbia. He said an investigation is taking place to determine whether the weapons were to be sold, and if so where.

Stefanovic says the cache included explosives, more than 100 hand grenades, anti-tank mines, two rocket-launchers, a machine gun, automatic and semi-automatic guns, as well as ammunition.

Arms-smuggling has flourished in the Balkans following the wars of the 1990s when many weapons were left behind and later sold or distributed illegally. Some of the weapons used in last year's terror attacks in Paris originated in the Balkans.