Agram 2000 might not be very well known, but it has a distinct appearance. The Agram 2000 is the most common and famous example of the Agram family of submachine guns. The family includes the 1995, the 2000, and the 2002 models. Ivan Vugrek designed the weapon in 1990 to be sold to the Croatian Army during the Croatian War for Independence. The Army passed over the Agram for an HS Produkt design.
The Agram 2000 submachine gun became famous for the criminal preference for the weapon. No military ever adopted the weapon. Production was limited to what is essentially home-based weapon shops. Even so, the gun found its way into the hands of criminals across Europe.
The Agram 2000 – A Simple Design
The Agram 2000 doesn’t do anything revolutionary. The weapon used a direct blowback system. The submachine gun fires from a closed bolt. It famously borrows several features from other guns. The bolt comes from the TEC-9, and the trigger mechanism comes from the Beretta M12.
The barrel can vent enough gas to convert a supersonic 9mm cartridge to subsonic, similar to an MP5SD. This makes it well-suited for suppressor use. Without a suppressor, a guard can be installed to block the venting and maintain the cartridge’s supersonic velocity.
The designers went with a proprietary magazine design which is often one of the problems with the gun. The magazines tend to be cheap and not so reliable. The most distinct part of the weapon is the thumb-hole front grip. The weapon was not designed with a stock in mind, so it’s very compact.
The Agram 2000 was never well known for its reliability, accuracy, or any of those features or factors. It’s only famous for its use by criminals across Europe.
The Agram 2000 – The Criminal’s Choice
The designer, Ivan Vugrek, started the Agram 2000 on its life of crime. After the Croatian Army passed on his designs, he kept making them. Not officially, and not for sale through legal channels. He and his family operated a home workshop that produced the guns and often sold them to criminals. Police investigated the Vugrek family after numerous murders with Agram 2000 submachine guns.
According to a report on crime in the Netherlands, an investigation was conducted in 2006 and 2013. The investigation eventually ended in an arrest and imprisonment. It’s easy to see why criminals would prefer the Agram 2000. It’s small, concealable, and likely cheaper than other black-market options. They often lacked serial numbers and markings. I have a Jane Guide stating that the gun they examined had no markings.
Criminals used the gun for decades. In 1998, there were two notable murders with Agram 2000 SMGs. Criminals gunned down gang leader Zlatko Bagarić, with one gunman reportedly emptying the entire magazine into the man. The highest profile use of the Agram 2000 was the murder of Russian political leader Galina Starovoytova in her doorway by a hitman with an Agram 2000.
In 2003, police in the Netherlands found one during an investigation of a potential radical Muslim terrorist cell in Hofstadt. The gun was discovered in the back of a car. The cell also had body armor, night vision, and hand grenades.
In 2010, police recovered another from a London Fields gang member after a hit gone wrong left a schoolgirl dead. In 2020, police found one in Jamaica, apparently abandoned by criminals as police launched an operation in the area.
From Crime To War
Interestingly, the first time an organized fighting force utilized the Agram 2000 was in the Ukraine-Russia conflict. The Territorial Defense Force took confiscated Agrams from criminals and turned them against the Russian forces. The little gun finally found a quasi-official use, although you would have to be desperate to depend on the gun, and well, these guys were desperate.
The Agram 2000 is out of production, but the guns will likely continue to pop up around Europe. It proves that criminals don’t follow laws and will find a way.
