Germany saw rise last year in weapons-related crime

“For years, former war and crisis regions have been a source of firearms and the illegal trade in them,” the BKA report said.

“The countries of the Western Balkans in particular are still in the spotlight due to the high availability of firearms there, even more than 30 years after the end of the wars,” it noted.

Most of these weapons are smuggled via land routes. Organized, illegal smuggling of firearms from Ukraine into Germany has not yet been detected, according to the BKA.