Three Britons held in Greece on suspicion of mass weapons smuggling operation

Three British men have been arrested in Greece on suspicion of trying to smuggle a huge stash of guns and cartridges into Turkey, authorities have said.

The three men, who are all also Iraqi nationals, were reportedly caught with stashes of guns and tens of thousands of weapon cartridges.

Greek coastguards said that two of the men had been stopped near a sea port in the country's north as a result of a tip-off from secret services.

They were in a vehicle with a trailer that contained boxes with 18 rifles and 27,000 cartridges, the coastguard said in a statement.

Following their arrest, a third suspect was held close to the Turkish border crossing, police and coast guard officials said. He was found to have 200,000 cartridges and four pistols in a trailer.

The men, thought to be aged 35 and 40, are due to be taken before a local magistrate later on suspicion of illegal possession of weapon and smuggling.

A police official in Greece said there was currently no evidence to connect any of the trio to Islamic State terrorists.

He added that the weapons were not combat rifles but could have beenused for training.

The Foreign Office said it was aware of the arrest and was in contact with Greek authorities.