Former Formula One general manager Bernie Ecclestone was arrested in Brazil on Wednesday night for illegally carrying a gun while boarding a private jet bound for Switzerland, local police said on Thursday.
Brazilian police found an undocumented LW Seecamp .32 pistol in Ecclestone’s luggage during an X-ray projection, police said in a statement, adding that he was later arrested and taken to a facility in airport Viracopos to Campinas.
Ecclestone acknowledged he was the owner of the gun, but said he did not know he was in his luggage at the time, police said. The Briton paid bail and was released to travel.
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The 91-year-old is married to Fabiana Ecclestone, of Brazilian descent, vice president of the FIA and a member of the World Motor Sport Council.
They attended several events in the South American country in May, including a local expensive car race in the countryside near São Paulo and a meeting with three-time world champion Nelson Piquet in Brasilia.