Bernie Ecclestone was questioned by police at an airport in Portugal after arriving with an undocumented shotgun.The 95-year-old says he was intending to use the gun in a clay pigeon shooting competition.Ecclestone denied reports he had been arrestedGettyThe former Formula 1 CEO was stopped and questioned by four officers after landing at the Tires Aerodrome in Cascais near Lisbon.He was forced to ‘surrender’ the weapon having failed to travel with the correct documents to import it.Ecclestone not arrestedResponding to reports he had been arrested, Ecclestone told PA Media: “No. The police were very helpful and doing all they could to stop us from having to do what we had to do.“I was going to take part in Portugal in a clay pigeon shooting competition, which I only knew about a few days ago because Fabiana [his wife] met someone when she was coming back from Brazil to Portugal. He said he was entering into a clay pigeon competition.“So she called me and said, ‘There is something here you should go and look at. Why don’t you turn up and join?’ And I said, ‘Well, that wouldn’t be a bad idea’.“As I have got guns already in Switzerland, which have been imported properly, because we do a bit of clay pigeon shooting there, I brought the gun in with me.“I went through customs and the people know me very well. They said, ‘Anything to declare?’ I said, ‘No, nothing really, just all the usual personal things’.“So I walked out and, as I got out, one of my people with me said, ‘The police have asked if you would go and see them’. I went to see the police and said, ‘What can I do for you?’ And they said, ‘We would like some information on this gun you brought in’.“I didn’t even unzip the case. I said, ‘Well, it is a shotgun and this is the reason’. And they asked where is the blue book for the gun? And I said, ‘I don’t know, I have never heard about a blue book in my life’.“They said, ‘Yes, well anyone with these guns should always have the book, it is like a passport. Incidentally, I want to look at your passport, too,’ which they took.This is not the first gun-related problem Ecclestone has run intoGetty“I said I bought the gun in England and took it into Switzerland through all the normal channels. And they said, ‘Where is the blue book?’ And I said: ‘I just told you, I don’t know about the blue book’.“There were about four police guys and they said, ‘What you have done is try to import a gun into the country’. I said, ‘I have not tried to do that. I have come through customs, and here I am with you.“So all this nonsense went on. We went back to the customs, and the police had complained to customs, and the customs officer said, ‘You need to surrender the gun here in Lisbon and then we will look at it there, and do you want to import it? “And if so, you will have to pay duty on it and ask for a temporary import, and we will deal with it like that’. So I said, ‘Well we’d better do that.'”Ecclestone has previously been held over a gun-related matter.In 2022, he was arrested in Brazil for illegally possessing a gun as he prepared to fly to Switzerland.Ecclestone was in charge of F1 for 30 yearsAFPHe admitted to owning the firearm but said he didn’t realise he was carrying it.Ecclestone was bailed and eventually released.F1’s former main manEcclestone founded the Formula One Group in 1987 and controlled F1’s commercial rights until 2017, when they were bought by Liberty Media.But he remains an avid motorsport fan and, in 2024, sold an enormous collection of classic racecars.The one-time Formula Three racer still attends Grands Prix, regularly offering his views on the sport, as he did last year when he suggested seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton might want to move on from Ferrari.This is a developing story and is being updated.For the latest updates, breaking news alerts, and comprehensive analysis, refresh this page or follow our real-time news coverage by watching and listening to talkSPORT live.For broader context, explore related coverage on our homepage for the top trending stories. For the latest talkSPORT videos, download the app.talkSPORT cares about getting it right, not just getting it first and because this is a developing situation, details will change. We will be updating this page constantly with verified info, expert takes, and official statements.Stay tuned for further developments as this story continues to break.