Bernie Ecclestone Arrested Over Gun at Portuguese Aerodrome
Bernie Ecclestone, the man who once ruled Formula One with an iron grip, is again facing questions over a firearm found in his possession.
The 95-year-old former F1 supremo was reportedly arrested at Tires Aerodrome in Cascais, just outside Lisbon, after arriving on his private jet and being found with a shotgun. Local newspaper Correio da Manhã reported that airport officers detained him during what was described as a routine operation.
This is the second time in four years that Ecclestone has been held over a weapon while travelling by private jet.
Echoes of Brazil
In 2022, Ecclestone was detained at Campinas airport near São Paulo when Brazilian authorities discovered a gun in his luggage as he prepared to board a flight to Switzerland.
He admitted carrying the weapon but insisted he had not realised it was in his bag. After paying bail, he was released and allowed to continue his journey.
Ecclestone later dismissed that incident as a “silly, tiny little incident”, complaining that it had caused significant aggravation as he tried to fly back to Europe with his family. He also publicly rejected the notion that he had been formally arrested, even as Brazilian officials confirmed that a businessman – not named at the time – had been arrested for possession of a firearm.
He said he had bought the LW Seecamp .32 pistol years earlier in Brazil from a Formula One mechanic, without ammunition, claiming he carried it only as a deterrent. In his own telling, it was as much a talking point as a weapon, something he would “muck around with” when visitors came to his home.
Portuguese Authorities Point to Customs
This latest case unfolds on different ground, and with different authorities involved.
Reports in Portugal state that Ecclestone was held at Tires Aerodrome after landing in his private jet with a shotgun on board. What happens next is unclear: it is not yet known whether he will be charged or brought before a judge.
Portugal’s Airport Division of the Public Security Police (PSP) has not formally commented on the specifics of Ecclestone’s situation. A PSP spokesman stressed that border control officers were not responsible for the arrest being attributed to them, pointing instead to the Tax and Customs Authority’s Lisbon delegation.
“The occurrence involves the Tax and Customs Authority – Lisbon Delegation (Customs),” the force said, indicating that any detailed clarification would have to come from that body. Customs officials have so far been unreachable for comment.
A Life Split Between Countries – and Controversies
Ecclestone divides his time between Switzerland and Portugal, with homes in both, as well as in Brazil. His ties to Portugal run deeper than property: he played a key role in bringing Formula One back to the country in 1984, helping re-establish it on the calendar.
His off-track life, though, has been increasingly dominated by legal and financial scrutiny.
In 2022, he agreed to pay £652 million after failing to declare overseas assets, including a trust in Singapore with a bank account holding around £400 million. He pleaded guilty to a single charge of fraud and received a 17‑month prison sentence, suspended for two years.
Now, with another firearm-related arrest reported and questions hanging over what charges, if any, might follow, the man who once controlled the direction of Formula One finds his own movements and decisions under the microscope yet again.
