SAA event in Brazil on Fri 27th February 2026

Bust in Novo Hamburgo: Criminal operation producing 3D-printed submachine guns dismantled in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. Last Friday (February 27), the Civil Police of Rio Grande do Sul conducted a major raid in Novo Hamburgo, uncovering a clandestine workshop manufacturing FGC-9 submachine guns using 3D printers. Officers arrested a man and a woman directly at the production site in the Vila Diehl neighborhood. The operation was coordinated with the interception of two suspects in a vehicle, posing as a ride-share driver and passenger, who were en route to deliver one of the weapons to a criminal group. Police recovered an additional FGC-9 and two loaded magazines from the car. At the house, authorities seized a total of seven completed FGC-9 submachine guns (caliber 9mm), several Glock pistol frames, dozens of magazines, ammunition, weapon components, and multiple high-end 3D printers still in operation. The suspects were reportedly linked to an organized crime network producing and selling these firearms to gangs in the Porto Alegre metropolitan area and beyond. 3D-printed firearms especially the popular FGC-9 design (originally created as an open-source "Fuck Gun Control" project), have surged in Brazil's criminal underworld over the past couple of years. These homemade weapons provide a much cheaper and more accessible alternative to black-market rifles, which can cost thousands of dollars.