INTERPOL Operation Trigger II: Targeting illicit firearms trafficking in Europe

The increasing number of terrorist attacks in Europe have once again made clear that the region and its citizens have, at times, lost their sense of security, and that the hope that they could keep terror and transnational organized crime at bay has been undermined.

Whatever else these criminals may have shared, one thing they certainly had in common was a fondness for easily obtained firearms.

Guns are used to kill as many as 1,000 people each day, and this is only a small percentage of all crimes committed with firearms.

With increased concerns over the illicit trafficking of weapons from Eastern countries and the Balkan region into Europe, a key factor of the INTERPOL-led Operation Trigger is to establish a stronger police network in the field to break down this illegal flow.