A German citizen was arrested after disembarking from the Motril ferry in Melilla with illegal, non-lethal weapons in his possession.

The man, who had gone across to Melilla in North Africa in his Volkswagen Golf (German plates) with tasers and CS sprays, intended to introduce them into Morocco via this Spanish, North-African enclave.

When asked if he had anything to declare, he replied that he hadn’t but the customs officials decided to take a look in his six suitcases anyway, which was when they came across some 150 illegal items.

The tasers were integrated into battery torches (flashlights) – they emit a beam of light but if you prod somebody with the front end, it releases an incapacitating electrical discharge. The man had 53 of them.

He also had over 100 personal-defence sprays, which lacked a CE certificate (necessary for importation into Europe). Furthermore these items can only be sold in specialized shops; i.e., cannot not be freely obtained.

According to the arrested man, he had purchased them over the Internet from an American source and his intention was to introduce them into Morocco.

Editorial note: the photo is only representative of this kind of device and does not necessarily match the actual product brand name.

(News: Melilla, North Africa)