Former System 1 boss Bernie Ecclestone has denied being arrested at an airport in Portugal after arriving with a shotgun he supposed to make use of in a clay pigeon capturing competitors.
Ecclestone, 95, mentioned he was stopped and questioned by 4 cops and customs officers on the Tires Aerodrome in Cascais on Monday after arriving from Switzerland.
The British businessman instructed the Press Affiliation he needed to "give up" the weapon he travelled with as he didn’t have the suitable paperwork to appropriately import it.
Ecclestone, who was accountable for F1 for almost 40 years till 2017, mentioned the Portuguese police had been "very useful" and rejected stories he had been arrested.
"I used to be going to participate in a clay pigeon capturing competitors in Portugal," mentioned Ecclestone.
"I went to see the police and mentioned, 'What can I do for you?' And so they mentioned, 'We wish some info on this gun you introduced in'."
Ecclestone added he had already taken his shotgun from England to Switzerland and mentioned he anticipated no issues because the airport officers know him "very effectively".
Nevertheless, on arrival he was questioned by police for about an hour and was requested handy over the weapon as he didn’t have the official paperwork to carry it into the nation.
The incident marks the second time Ecclestone has encountered airport points relating to firearms. In 2022, he was l for illegally carrying a gun whereas boarding a non-public aircraft to Switzerland and was ordered to pay 6,000 Brazilian reals (£1,000) to the native authorities.
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