Weapons Intended for Pitt Film Confiscated by SWAT Team

Eighty five weapons stored in a warehouse intended for use in Brad Pitt's World War Z film were seized by a SWAT team near Budapest in Hungary on Monday, because they had not been suitably modified according to the Hungarian law, authorities said Tuesday.

The weapons were discovered at a nearby duty free zone, which were shipped from London to Budapest's Ferenc Liszt Airport near Pitt's film set on Saturday, Janos Hajdu, who is the director of Hungary's Anti-terrorism Center, said.

The paperwork accompanying the weapons, including machine guns, rifles and pistols, claimed they were non-functional, although they were in fact fully working military-style assault rifles. He said he could not confirm they were intended for Pitt film.

It's possible that all the weapons were brought in for the film, but this would not be allowed by Hungarian law, as the weapons had not been irreversible and could still be used to fire live ammunition, Hajdu said on Neo FM radio. This is a very complicated case.

Bela Gajdos, a firearms expert supervisor for World War Z, stated Mafilm, a Hungarian film company based near Budapest had the necessary permits for all the questioned weapons issued by local police authorities before it brought the guns to Hungary.

They were only meant for the film shoot. They had already been tested in Britain but in Hungary they were thought to be not suitably modified, Gajdos claimed.

Gajdos said the government had interrogated him and the security forces, who also impounded the permits, had thoroughly searched his home in Budapest before daybreak on Monday.

Gajdos added that the weapons were seized before he and a Hungarian forensic weapons expert had the opportunity to inspect them and permit their use as stage guns.