Former Formula 1 chief Bernie Ecclestone has rejected reports that he was arrested in Portugal after airport authorities stopped him over a shotgun he had brought into the country.
The 95-year-old businessman was questioned at Tires Aerodrome in Cascais on Monday after arriving on a flight from Switzerland. Portuguese police and customs officials examined the firearm and found that Ecclestone did not have the documentation required to import it legally.
Ecclestone said he had travelled with the shotgun because he planned to compete in a clay pigeon shooting event in Portugal. He was questioned for around an hour before being required to hand the weapon over to the authorities.
According to Ecclestone, the encounter did not result in an arrest. He described the officials involved as cooperative and said the issue centred entirely on the missing paperwork.
The former F1 executive had previously transported the same shotgun from England to Switzerland and believed he would be able to bring it into Portugal without difficulty. He also said staff at the Cascais airport were familiar with him from previous visits.
Ecclestone controlled Formula 1’s commercial operations for almost four decades before leaving his senior role in 2017.
The incident is not his first airport-related problem involving a firearm. In 2022, Ecclestone was detained in Brazil after authorities discovered an undeclared handgun in his luggage as he prepared to board a private flight to Switzerland.
Brazilian officials subsequently ordered him to pay 6,000 reais, equivalent at the time to roughly £1,000, before he was permitted to continue his journey.