Gun found inside suitcase at Tenerife Airport
Guardia Civil officers at Tenerife North Airport have intercepted a real firearm hidden inside a checked suitcase belonging to a passenger travelling to Madrid.
The weapon was detected during routine inspections carried out by officers from the Fiscal and Border Section and the Fiscal and Border Analysis and Investigation Unit (UDAIFF), working alongside airport security staff. Using X-ray screening, agents identified the outline of a pistol inside a piece of checked luggage, leading to an immediate search for the passenger responsible for the bag.
Once located, the passenger was asked to open the suitcase, where officers confirmed the presence of an old but functional firearm. The traveller claimed the pistol belonged to his family, but he was unable to provide any documentation to prove legal ownership.
Because Spanish aviation security rules require strict procedures for transporting any type of firearm in checked luggage, officers initiated the corresponding report through UDAIFF. The case has now been referred to the correct judicial authority for further investigation.
Under Spanish law, carrying a real firearm in luggage without a licence or authorisation is a criminal offence that can lead to the confiscation of the weapon, a criminal record and a prison sentence. In this case, the fact that the pistol found at Tenerife North Airport was a functioning firearm with no documentation means the traveller could face anything from several months to several years in jail, depending on factors such as the condition of the weapon, whether it could still be fired, and any previous offences. Spain’s courts take these incidents seriously: in August 2023, the Supreme Court sentenced a man to six months in prison for possessing an old, rusty, unloaded revolver stored in a utility room, ruling that even an aged or non-loaded weapon still counts as illegal possession if it is capable of firing.
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