French customs agents find stash of weapons in sports shop

PARIS – French customs authorities say they have seized a giant stash of weapons found hidden in a sports store in the northern French region of Picardy.

In a Wednesday statement, the French custom office said that its officers seized nearly 500 weapons, more than 100 kilograms (220 pounds) of ammunition and myriad grenades last Thursday.

The raid was captured by authorities on dramatic video in which armed officers and sniffer dogs scoured the backroom of the shop run by an unnamed individual who did not possess a weapon permit.

During the search, customs officials said they found “an arsenal of long guns” in a car nearby including “weapons of war” and machine-guns that were arranged on racks.

It remains unclear why the weapons were amassed.