Authorities in southern Italy seized about 7,500 Kalashnikov assault rifles and other combat-grade firearms from a ship headed for New York, officials said Tuesday.
The weapons–AK-47s, AKM rifles and machine guns valued at more than $6 million–were found mixed in with properly labeled guns in cargo containers aboard a Turkish-flagged ship that docked at the port of Gioia Tauro, a police official said.
Documents accompanying the cargo indicated the weapons were destined for a company in Georgia, the official said, declining to name the company.
During customs controls in Italy, officials found that two of the ship’s containers held combat-grade Kalashnikov rifles hidden under conventional firearms that included SKA rifles and Mauser rifles.
The rifles were designated combat weapons because they had bayonets affixed and cartridges that held up to 30 rounds, the official said.
The ship was traveling from the Romanian port of Constanta to New York.
