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Why are there AK47s in Europe?

For the second time this year, Islamic extremists used high-powered automatic weapons to kill civilians in Paris. How many guns are there of this kind in circulation in Europe and how did they get there?

British journalist and author Misha Glenny told the Today programme that during the Balkan war of the 1990s, networks emerged dealing drugs and guns out of the Balkan countries and into the European Union.

After the war, these networks remained, with an estimated four to five million semi-automatic weapons in circulation.

There is a β€œsymbiotic relationship” between terrorists and organised crime, he told presenter Mishal Husain.

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