BIG MEN in black masks stand guard as the crates are gently opened and a formidable arsenal revealed: scores of machine guns, automatic pistols and sniper rifles.
Gloved hands deftly remove safety screws from the muzzles of a handgun and a rifle, and fire off a pair of echoing shots. But instead of foiling the deadly plans of a militant cell or an internat- ional arms dealer, Hungary’s elite TEK anti-terrorism unit only inconvenienced a far less shadowy figure: Brad Pitt.
The actor is in Budapest filming zombie blockbuster World War Z, and the weapons were flown in from London for use as props.
But the TEK impounded them, insisting they had not been fully deactivated and could quickly be adapted for use with live ammunition – as shown in the video released to the media (rtlklub.hu/hirek/belfold/video/ 143999).
Janos Hajdu, TEK director, said almost 100 weapons had been delivered on Saturday by an aircraft that then immediately turned around and returned to Britain. Working from what Hajdu called “secret data collection”, the TEK raided a warehouse near Budapest airport where the guns were being stored. The unit did not appear to be aware until afterwards that the cache was intended for Pitt and his crew.
“It’s possible that all the weapons were brought in for the film, but this would not be allowed by Hungarian law,” Hajdu said later, noting how easily the guns could be used with live rounds. “This is a very complicated case,” he added. Adam Goodman of Mid Atlantic Films, which is assisting Pitt’s production company in Budapest, insisted that it was “business as usual” on the set.
“We are working things out with the authorities,” Goodman said. “This will not affect our filming or schedule.”