French driver, 46, detained in Italy after three Akeron missiles found in van

A routine check at the port of Bari turned into an investigation into a shipment of high-powered military equipment.

Italian law enforcement officers stopped a 46-year-old French citizen, named as Regis Claude Albert Normand, after he disembarked from the Superfast II vessel after it arrived from Patras.

In his van, which had French number plates, investigators found five transport containers designed to carry anti-tank weapons systems.

Inside were launch tubes and missiles, including three Akeron missiles, which, according to a technical assessment and based on information gathered so far, are to be classified as weapons of war.

The case is detailed in an order issued by judge Valeria Isabella Valenzi of the Bari court, who ordered that Normand be held in pre-trial detention.

Read more: Euronews