French customs officer shot dead during arms trafficking investigation

November 23, 2015 3:57 PM

The gunman was arrested nearby after trying to flee the scene, a police source said.

French customs officer shot dead during arms trafficking investigation

A man shot dead a French customs officer and wounded another customs official and a policeman during an arms trafficking investigation in the southern port city of Toulon early on Monday, the finance ministry said.

Recommended articles

The French government is clamping down on arms trafficking in the wake of the Nov. 13 shootings and suicide bombings in Paris - though Marseille prosecutor Brice Robin said Monday's shooting was not linked to terrorism.

The officials were posing as couriers delivering a parcel ordered from abroad with weapons parts inside when they were shot, said authorities. The gunman was arrested nearby after trying to flee the scene, a police source said.

The government says the number of weapons coming to France has been growing steadily, both from within the European Union and other countries in regions such as the Balkans and the former Soviet Union.

In 2014, 5,300 guns were seized in France, of which 175 were military-grade weapons, according to the Interior Ministry.