( CNN ) -- British authorities said Tuesday they are conducting a criminal investigation into an American man charged in federal court with smuggling weapons into England . Steven Neal Greenoe is suspected of buying more than 60 firearms in North Carolina and transporting them to England on at least nine occasions , according to court documents . In September , a federal grand jury handed up a 43-count superseding indictment against him . He was arrested in July , when authorities found another 16 firearms in his baggage . TITAN , a task force in Britain 's North West region for serious and organized crimes , said in a statement Tuesday it was also investigating Greenoe . `` This is a complex investigation involving law enforcement agencies across the North West of England , '' Detective Chief Superintendent Simon Leach , who heads the task force , said in the statement . `` We are working closely with our colleagues nationally and with partners in the United States . The availability of firearms poses a serious risk and our investigation will be continuing over the coming weeks and months . '' After being brought into the country , allegedly by Greenoe , the firearms were then sold in Britain , court documents said . An undercover police officer bought three of them from two men for 10,500 pounds ( about $ 16,500 ) . The Times of London reported Tuesday that British and U.S. authorities held crisis talks after Greenoe , 37 , was arrested . Some of the firearms are unaccounted for , the Times reported , and of those recovered , ballistics tests show one was used in a drive-by shooting in Manchester , England , in October . Britain 's Home Office said Tuesday it and the government continue `` to work very closely with international partners , including counterparts in the United States , on all matters relating to security . Measures to protect the public and tackle the threat posed by terrorism and international crime are constantly kept under review . '' Greenoe always flew into Manchester 's airport , according to the complaint . Officials there told CNN that arriving passengers are not screened unless they are stopped by customs . The TSA on Tuesday declined comment on the case , citing pending litigation . Firearms are not prohibited from checked luggage , according to the TSA 's website . However , firearms must be declared to the airline , and the guns must be unloaded and in a hard-sided container . Firearms may not be taken out of the United States , according to the International Trade in Arms Regulations unless the person carrying them has registered with the State Department 's Office of Defense Trade Controls . On July 19 , as authorities were investigating Greenoe , the Immigration and Customs Enforcement attache in London told the agency that neither Greenoe nor his company , Jolie Rouge consultants , had been granted an export license from the office . Greenoe allegedly took the guns overseas by breaking them down into pieces and spreading the pieces over multiple bags in his checked luggage , according to a federal complaint filed in July . The TSA on Tuesday declined comment on the case , citing pending litigation . Greenoe 's defense attorney , Mark Edwards of Durham , North Carolina , declined comment to CNN on Tuesday . Edwards previously told the Times in the story published Tuesday that `` Steve 's a bright young man , very sociable , a bright guy , well read , well-educated , well-traveled . He 's been all over the world . He 's an interesting man to deal with and not my average client at all . '' On May 3 , according to the complaint , Greenoe was interviewed at the Raleigh-Durham , North Carolina , airport by TSA officials after a screen of his luggage showed pieces of `` multiple firearms . '' Greenoe told authorities that `` he was a salesman , and that he had just gone to the Raleigh gun show and that the guns were broken down and not in a working order , '' the complaint said . After checking the serial numbers on the guns , the TSA allowed Greenoe to continue with his flight , according to the complaint . Authorities believe `` Greenoe was attempting to elude law enforcement and U.S. customs officials by stating that the items in his luggage were ... inert and non-working samples , '' the complaint said . `` In fact , these items were fully functional firearms that had been disassembled and disguised to appear as anything but a functional firearm . '' A native of New Orleans , Greenoe lived in Shrewsbury , about 70 miles southwest of Manchester , the Times reported . Confronted and questioned at the Raleigh airport on July 25 , Greenoe initially said they were non-working samples that belonged to Jolie Rouge , according to the complaint , but later told authorities that he bought the weapons `` as a means to provide high quality firearms to his employees while providing overseas maritime protection , '' since he could not buy high quality weapons overseas . Charges against Greenoe include failing to notify a common carrier of arms shipment ; exporting firearms from the United States without a license ; smuggling firearms outside the United States ; and falsifying an ATF form . In a hearing in July , a federal magistrate declared Greenoe a flight risk and ordered him held . Greenoe waived his appearance on the superseding indictment after it was handed up , according to court records . Several motions in the case were filed under seal in November . Greenoe is currently being held in the Pitt County Detention Center in Greenville , North Carolina . CNN 's Jeanne Meserve and Antonia Mortensen contributed to this report .
Steven Greenoe is charged in a 43-count indictment . Authorities allege he illegally brought at least 60 guns into Britain . British authorities say they are also conducting a criminal investigation .