Bernie Ecclestone Stopped at Portuguese Airport Over Undocumented Shotgun on Private Jet

A Familiar Headline for Formula 1's Most Controversial Former Boss

Bernie Ecclestone was stopped by police at an airport in Portugal for bringing a shotgun into the country he intended to use in a clay pigeon shooting competition. The 95-year-old former Formula 1 supremo was quick to push back on the resulting media storm, flatly denying he was ever formally arrested — but the incident has nonetheless thrust him back into the spotlight in a way that will feel eerily familiar to anyone who followed his 2022 run-in with Brazilian authorities.

Ecclestone was detained at Tires Airport near Lisbon, Portugal, on Monday, September 7, after arriving by private jet from Switzerland with a shotgun for which he did not have the required documentation to carry into the country. The incident occurred during a routine inspection at the airport, and Portuguese outlet Correio da Manhã reported that "his arrest was carried out by officers from the Airport Division of the PSP (Portuguese Public Security Police)."

Ecclestone's Version: A Paperwork Problem, Not a Crime

Ecclestone, who ruled F1 for four decades before he was deposed in 2017, said he spoke to customs officers and "four police" officers for "about an hour," explaining that he was going to take part in a clay pigeon shooting competition that he had only learned about a few days earlier because his wife Fabiana had met someone while travelling back from Brazil to Portugal.

He said he already owned firearms in Switzerland and had brought one with him without realising additional documentation would be needed in Portugal. The sticking point was paperwork rather than the weapon itself. Ecclestone told Daily Mail Sport that he had carried the shotgun from England to Switzerland and on to Portugal for the competition, and that he keeps licensed guns at his Portuguese home. Customs, he said, waved him through without difficulty — it was only afterwards that an officer asked to search his bag and then asked for the "blue book," the import documentation the law requires.

Portugal has some of the strictest firearm legislation in Europe, and anyone transporting a weapon into the country, even for sporting purposes, is required to carry a European Firearms Pass — a document informally called a "blue book" — issued by the national authority of their home country that identifies the weapon and confirms the holder's credentials. Ecclestone, who does not speak Portuguese, said he had passed customs but police asked about the gun and sought documentation, leading to what he called "unnecessary aggravation." His Brazilian-born wife eventually went to Lisbon, accompanied by a customs official, to surrender the gun to authorities.

Not His First Airport Gun Incident

It is the second time in four years Ecclestone has reportedly faced allegations involving a gun at an airport. In 2022, he was detained in São Paulo, Brazil, after a firearm was found as he prepared to board a private jet for Switzerland. At the time, Ecclestone acknowledged owning the gun but said he was unaware it was in his luggage. He was freed and allowed to travel to Switzerland after paying bail, later describing the arrest as a "silly, tiny little incident."

In October 2023, he was also convicted of tax fraud at Southwark Crown Court, agreeing to pay HMRC over £650 million in unpaid taxes and penalties, and was sentenced to 17 months in prison, suspended for two years. For a man of his age and legal history, the Portugal episode adds yet another chapter to a remarkably turbulent post-F1 life.

Where Things Stand Now

Ecclestone told Reuters: "So now we've gone through all this and the people in Lisbon have got the gun." He added: "I've signed some documents as they wanted." No further action against Ecclestone has been reported.

Whether this amounts to a close call or a bureaucratic misunderstanding may depend on who you ask. Portuguese police and Ecclestone offer differing accounts of what actually transpired on that airfield tarmac. What is clear is that at 95, the man who once controlled the world's most glamorous motorsport series still has a remarkable talent for generating headlines — even when he insists there's nothing to see.