illegal weapons possession

Illegal weapons possession is, under Danish law, the possession of firearms, weapon parts, ammunition, hand grenades or explosives without the permit required by law. The prohibition on possessing such items without a permit follows from the Danish Weapons Act (våbenloven), and violations are punished under § 10(1) of that act with a fine, imprisonment for up to 4 months, or, under aggravating circumstances, imprisonment for up to 2 years.

The Weapons Act regulates which weapons and accessories require a permit, and when a private individual or a business may lawfully acquire, possess or carry them. Failure to comply with these requirements generally entails criminal liability under § 10(1).

If the violation is committed under particularly aggravating circumstances, it is punished under the Danish Penal Code (straffeloven) § 192 a with imprisonment from 2 to 8 years, and where several weapons are kept in the same place (a weapons cache), the penalty may rise to 16 years. It is an aggravating circumstance if the firearm is possessed in a place accessible to the public.

In determining the sentence, the courts attach weight to a number of factors: the type and dangerousness of the weapon, the number of weapons and the quantity of ammunition, whether the possession took place in a public place, and whether there is a connection to the biker gang scene or other organised crime. The level of punishment may range from a fine in the least serious cases to imprisonment in the gravest ones.