N176038

N176038 is the serial number of a Smith & Wesson .357 Magnum mod 27-2. It was first bought by the Engineer (Ingenjören) in 1974. In 2006 it was confiscated by the Swedish police as the Engineer's licens was revoked. He was not deemed fit for a license as he owned an unlicensed gun and was convicted for a death threat he had mailed to a director of a government agency. The authorities kept the gun for 6 years, without examining it or comparing it to the bullets found at the site of the Palme assassination. According to protocols from the Palme investigation group, they wanted that all confiscated guns with the correct rifling to be examined. This was however often overlooked. In 2012 the Police sold all the confiscated guns to Värnamo Vapen & Sport. This company is known for selling large amounts of guns, and also exporting them. Hence it is possible that the Engineer's gun has found it's way outside of Sweden.

There is nothing illegal in selling, buying, owning, exporting, importing or otherwise handling a gun that has been confiscated and then sold by the police. Hence, the current owner should be the rightful owner of this gun.