Crime · updated 2h ago · 3 min read
Bernie Ecclestone Detained in Portugal After Customs Finds Undocumented Shotgun on Private Jet
Bernie Ecclestone detained at Tires Aerodrome after a shotgun was found aboard his private jet. He lacked required firearm documents and surrendered the weapon, according to reports.
Whether police arrested him or he was only detained.
4 of 5 outlets skipped it: ecclestone acquired a £35m Cascais property.
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The Sun
“FORMER F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone has reportedly been arrested for illegally carrying a shotgun for the second time in four years.”Read the original ↗
The Guardian
“Responding to reports he had been arrested, Ecclestone told the Press Association: “No.”Read the original ↗
The Sun leads with arrest claims, while The Guardian foregrounds Ecclestone’s denial, creating an arrest-versus-questioning legal emphasis gap.
Shotgun at Tires Aerodrome
Former Formula One chief executive Bernie Ecclestone, 95, was detained in Portugal on Monday after customs authorities found him in possession of an undocumented shotgun at Tires Aerodrome in Cascais, shortly after his private jet landed.
“Bernie Ecclestone was detained in Portugal on Monday after customs authorities found him in possession of an undocumented shotgun”
Ecclestone told the Press Association, “No. The police were very helpful and doing all they could to stop us from having to do what we had to do.”
The Guardian said a routine inspection of the aircraft and its passengers led authorities to discover the gun, and it described standard procedure as the firearm being seized and the person made a defendant in criminal proceedings.T
Ecclestone said he was bringing the shotgun for clay pigeon shooting and that he had guns already in Switzerland that were imported properly, adding that he went through customs and was then asked to see police about the gun.
The episode was described as the second time in four years he faced questioning over a firearm, after a May 2022 incident in Brazil involving an LW Seecamp .32-calibre pistol found on his luggage at Viracopos Airport in Campinas.
Competing accounts of arrest
Portuguese reporting and international outlets diverged on whether Ecclestone was formally arrested, with the Telegraph saying the Airport Division of the PSP denied Portuguese media reports that he had been arrested and quoting: “Our border control officers haven’t made the arrest that’s being attributed to them.”
Ecclestone rejected arrest claims in multiple interviews, telling the Press Association, “No. The police were very helpful and doing all they could to stop us from having to do what we had to do.”
The New York Times said Ecclestone told The Athletic he was questioned by local police after failing to produce the relevant documentation and that he was instructed to surrender the weapon.
In the same account, Ecclestone said police told him there is a “blue book” that normally goes with the gun and that he had “never seen a blue book, and I don’t know what the documents are.”
The New York Times also described how Ecclestone said he was questioned for around “30 to 45 minutes” before being told to surrender the shotgun and decide if he wanted to import it permanently or obtain a temporary import.
What happens next
After the questioning at Tires Aerodrome in Cascais, Ecclestone said customs officers told him he needed to surrender the gun in Lisbon and that authorities would then look at whether he wanted to import it permanently and pay duty or handle a temporary import.
“It is not yet known what the outcome of Ecclestone’s case will be”
The New York Times reported that if Ecclestone wants to retrieve the weapon, then he will need to show the relevant documentation and that he said finding the paperwork will be a “hassle”.
The Guardian said it was not yet known what the outcome of Ecclestone’s case will be, while also describing standard procedure as the firearm being seized and the person found carrying it being formally made a defendant in criminal proceedings.T
In the background of the Portugal case, the Guardian recounted that in May 2022 Ecclestone was arrested in Brazil for illegally possessing a gun while preparing to board a private plane bound for Switzerland, after an X-ray of his luggage revealed an undeclared LW Seecamp .32-calibre pistol.
Ecclestone told the Press Association that he was going to take part in Portugal in a clay pigeon shooting competition and said his wife Fabiana met someone when she was coming back from Brazil to Portugal, which he said led to the plan to join the competition.