Violent crime with automatic weapons on the rise

Violent incidents involving automatic weapons are increasing in the Netherlands. As is the number of automatic weapons seized by the police - 225 last year, compared to 170 in 2013 and 215 in 2014, Het Parool reports. Violent assassinations in the long-ongoing feud in Amsterdam's underworld, starting in 2012, resulted in the police making tracking down illegal weapons a priority. But the availability of dangerous weapons remains a major concern, the newspaper quotes a police spokesperson. According to the spokesperson, any illegal firearms that end up in the Netherlands come from Slovakia and the former Yugoslavia. Firearms lately on the black market are particularly from Bosnia and Serbia. In Slovakia it is still legal to transport and sell un-destroyed weapons. "Often they just put a pin in that makes the weapon not work, but after removal, you have a deadly gun again", the police said to Het Parool. Gas pistols especially come from Spain and Italy. Experts can easily convert these into firearms, according to the newspaper.