Overview
- Monday's trial in Wuppertal began with three men charged under Germany's War Weapons Control Act, including a 60-year-old main defendant and two co-defendants aged 38 and 35.
- Investigators say searches that began in October uncovered roughly 300 live firearms and nearly 100,000 rounds of ammunition stored behind false walls, hidden doors and secret compartments.
- The probe started after weapons were offered to undercover officers and led to a coordinated arrest on the A1 and multi-day searches involving about 200 officers and special police units.
- Prosecutors allege the 60-year-old stored arms for sale and point to a workbench and tools that could have been used to reactivate demilitarised weapons, while the defence says most items were part of a private collection and only single pieces were sold.
- The trial is scheduled for ten days through September and could shape enforcement of Germany's weapons laws and local public-safety measures if judges rule on organised trafficking and the technical ability to make old weapons fireable again.