Former Formula 1 chief executive Bernie Ecclestone was reportedly detained in Portugal this week after authorities discovered a shotgun in his luggage during a routine airport inspection, according to Portuguese newspaper Correio da Manhã.
Incident at Tires Aerodrome
The 95-year-old motorsport magnate was reportedly stopped after his private jet landed at Tires Aerodrome in Cascais, a general aviation airfield located just outside Lisbon. The publication reported that “his arrest was carried out by officers from the Airport Division of the PSP (Portuguese Public Security Police).”
Ecclestone Confirms Details, Denies Formal Arrest
Speaking to Daily Mail Sport, Ecclestone confirmed he had traveled with the firearm for clay-pigeon shooting but acknowledged he lacked the required import documentation. He disputed the characterization of the event as a formal arrest, describing it instead as a prolonged administrative delay.
“I had a gun that I was bringing over from Switzerland to Portugal for clay-pigeon shooting. It’s as simple as that. I have guns at home there that are licensed,”
he explained.
“We cleared customs on arriving here – I know the guys there – and they were fine with everything. No problems. Then a policeman afterwards asked to search the bag. It could have been [his six-year-old son] Ace’s fishing tackle for all it looked like, but it wasn’t.
“They asked if I had a ‘blue book’, which is apparently the documentation you need, and I told them I never travel with documents like that, any documents at all, practically. They said they would arrest me, but after what seemed like hours, we sorted it out, but it has been wall-to-wall aggravation.”
Resolution Underway
Ecclestone indicated the matter is being resolved. His wife, Fabiana Flosi, has traveled to Lisbon to handle the necessary procedures regarding the weapon.
“But it seems it can be put right. Fabi [his wife, Fabiana Flosi] has gone to Lisbon to surrender the gun, or pay the tax or whatever you need to bring it in, or to hand it over in the end. I said I would go too, but I didn’t as it happened, and I am sitting at home waiting for the situation to be put to bed.”
Second Firearm Incident in Four Years
This marks the second time since 2022 that Ecclestone has faced police questioning over a firearm at an airport.
In a well-documented 2022 incident in São Paulo, Brazilian authorities detained him prior to a flight to Switzerland after discovering an unloaded LW Seecamp .32 calibre pistol inside his luggage. He posted bail and dismissed the ordeal as a minor misunderstanding, explaining he had purchased the weapon as a home deterrent and forgotten it was in his bag.
Ecclestone denied he had been formally arrested in that instance as well, though São Paulo’s public security office confirmed in a statement that a businessman was arrested for possession of a firearm at Campinas airport.
