Bernie Ecclestone questioned in Portugal over undocumented shotgun

Former Formula One chief Bernie Ecclestone was questioned by Portuguese officials on Monday after authorities found a shotgun aboard his private jet at Tires Aerodrome in Cascais. The Guardian reported that customs authorities discovered the firearm during a routine inspection after the aircraft landed and said it had independently confirmed the incident with multiple authorities involved.

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The 95-year-old was stopped for questioning because he did not have the documentation officials requested for the gun, according to the report. The Guardian said standard procedure in such cases involves seizing the firearm and formally making the person carrying it a defendant in criminal proceedings. The eventual outcome of Ecclestone's case was not yet known.

Ecclestone rejected reports that he had been arrested. In comments to PA Media carried by The Guardian, he said police had been helpful. He explained that he planned to take part in a clay-pigeon shooting competition in Portugal after learning about the event only days earlier through his wife, Fabiana Flosi.

Ecclestone said he brought the shotgun from Switzerland, where he keeps firearms used for clay-pigeon shooting. He said he had originally bought it in England and taken it into Switzerland through the proper channels. According to his account, Portuguese officers asked for a document he described as a blue book, which they treated as the firearm's passport, but he said he did not know about that requirement.

He also said customs officials told him the gun would need to be surrendered in Lisbon while they assessed it. Ecclestone's account indicated that any effort to bring it into Portugal would require a temporary import process and payment of the applicable duty. Those comments describe his version of the encounter; Portuguese authorities had not announced a final resolution.

The Guardian noted that Ecclestone previously faced a firearm-related incident while traveling in 2022, when an undeclared pistol was found in his luggage at a Brazilian airport. Ecclestone's formal role in Formula One ended in 2017 when Liberty Media acquired the championship's commercial rights, after decades in which he was a central figure in building the sport's worldwide business.