Bernie Ecclestone questioned by Portuguese police over shotgun import

Former Formula One executive Bernie Ecclestone has said he was questioned by police at a Portuguese airport after bringing a shotgun intended for a clay pigeon shooting contest into the country.

The 95-year-old informed the Press Association that he had to "surrender" the firearm because he lacked the necessary paperwork, though he denied claims that he was arrested.

The event occurred on Monday after Ecclestone landed in Cascais, located approximately 20 miles outside Lisbon, having flown in from Switzerland.

Ecclestone, who headed F1 for four decades before being ousted in 2017, stated he spoke with customs personnel and "four police" officers for "about an hour".

Explaining the events, Ecclestone told PA: "I was going to take part in Portugal in a clay pigeon shooting competition, which I only knew about a few days ago because Fabiana (his wife) met someone when she was coming back from Brazil to Portugal. He said he was entering into a clay pigeon competition.

"So she called me and said, ‘There is something here you should go and look at. Why don’t you turn up and join?’ And I said, ‘Well, that wouldn’t be a bad idea’.

"As I have got guns already in Switzerland, which have been imported properly, because we do a bit of clay pigeon shooting there, I brought the gun in with me.

"I went through customs and the people know me very well. They said, ‘Anything to declare?’ I said, ‘No, nothing really, just all the usual personal things’.

"So I walked out and, as I got out, one of my people with me said, ‘The police have asked if you would go and see them’.

"I went to see the police and said, ‘What can I do for you?’ And they said, ‘We would like some information on this gun you brought in’.

"I didn’t even unzip the case. I said, ‘Well, it is a shotgun and this is the reason’. And they asked where is the blue book for the gun?

And I said, ‘I don’t know, I have never heard about a blue book in my life.

"They said, ‘Yes, well anyone with these guns should always have the book, it is like a passport. Incidentally, I want to look at your passport, too,’ which they took.

"I said I bought the gun in England and took it into Switzerland through all the normal channels. And they said, ‘Where is the blue book?’

And I said, ‘I just told you, I don’t know about the blue book.

"There were about four police guys and they said, ‘What you have done is try to import a gun into the country’. I said, ‘I have not tried to do that. I have come through customs, and here I am with you’, and they were like, ‘It is a gun and we need all the particulars for the gun, and I can I have a look at your passport, and we need the blue book for the gun’.

"So all this nonsense went on. We went back to the customs, and the police had complained to customs, and the customs officer said, ‘You need to surrender the gun here in Lisbon and then we will look at it there, and do you want to import it? And if so, you will have to pay duty on it and ask for a temporary import, and we will deal with it like that’. So I said, ‘Well we’d better do that’."

Dismissing suggestions that he had been arrested, Ecclestone replied: "No. The police were very helpful and doing all they could to stop us from having to do what we had to do."

Four years prior to this incident, Ecclestone had a handgun on his person before boarding a flight in Sao Paulo. He was stopped by police and paid 6,000 Brazilian reals (£1,000) to local authorities before the weapon was confiscated.