SAO PAULO (REUTERS) - Former Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone was arrested in Brazil late on Wednesday (May 25) for illegally carrying a gun while boarding a private plane to Switzerland, local police said on Thursday.

The Brazilian police found an undocumented LW Seecamp .32 gun in Ecclestone's luggage during an X-ray screening, police said in a statement, adding that the 91-year-old was then arrested and taken to a facility at Viracopos airport in Campinas.

Ecclestone acknowledged owning the gun, but said he was unaware it was in his luggage at the time, police said. The Briton paid bail and was freed to travel to Switzerland.

Asked about Ecclestone's arrest, the Sao Paulo state public security office confirmed in a statement to Reuters that a businessman was arrested for possession of a firearm at Campinas' airport, but did not name him directly.

The office said the "small, silver coloured pistol" was out of ammunition and that the arrestee had to pay 6,060 reais (S$1,740) as bail. The handgun was seized, it added.

Ecclestone was not immediately available for comment.

He is married to Brazilian-born Fabiana Ecclestone, an FIA vice-president and member of the World Motor Sport Council.

They attended several events in the South American country in May, including a local Stock Car race in the countryside near Sao Paulo and a meeting with triple world champion Nelson Piquet in Brasilia.

The Ecclestones own a coffee plantation near Sao Paulo, which they bought in 2012 and where they regularly spend time when not in Europe. Piquet drove for Brabham when it was owned by Ecclestone in the 1970s and 80s.

For decades Ecclestone was Mr Formula One, the man who did the deals, turned the wheels and transformed the sport into today's billion dollar business.

He was moved aside in 2017 when United States-based Liberty Media took control of the commercial rights.