BERLIN (AP) — Three former executives of German gun-maker Sig Sauer have gone on trial in Germany on suspicion of illegally selling firearms to Colombia by funneling them through a U.S. sister company.
The trial, which began Tuesday in the northern city of Kiel, centers on 180 shipments of semi-automatic SP 2022 pistols transferred from Sig Sauer's factory in Germany to its New Hampshire affiliate from 2009 to 2011. Prosecutors say more than 38,000 of the 47,000 pistols shipped to the United States were subsequently forwarded to Colombia, in breach of German arms export rules.
German news agency dpa reported that judges, prosecutors and defense lawyers are discussing settling the case if the defendants accept suspended sentences. Under German law, such a move wouldn't require the defendants to make a plea.
