Arms smuggling

U.K. Police Warn About Flood of Guns From Eastern Europe

Terrorists have tried to acquire guns from criminal gangs to carry out Paris-style atrocities in Britain, authorities warned Monday.

A flow of illegal weapons through Eastern Europe has led to a record level of gun seizures in London and prompted concerns that extremists could arms themselves for a devastating coordinated attack.

The terror threat level in Britain is officially set at "severe," meaning that an attack is considered highly likely. Officials say a dozen attack plots have been thwarted since 2013.

Temporary barriers, surveillance cameras on all Tube subway trains and greater use of cellphone alerts were among the security measures recommended for London in a major report submitted Friday to the city's mayor.

Lynne Owens, director general of Britain's National Crime Agency, said Monday that while automatic weapons remained hard to find in Britain, there had been increases in the availability of Baikal pistols and converted weapons from eastern Europe.