Iranian Arms Capured in Nigeria Intended for The Gambia

According to Vanguard Newspaper, A Nigerian, Alli Abass Jega, standing trial alongside Azim Aghajani, an Iranian, before a Federal High Court sitting in Lagos, for arms importation yesterday, told the court that he (Jega) was misled by Aghajani to use his name and office address to bring in the seized consignments of arms and ammunition.

Jega and Aghajani are both facing a fresh four-count charge for alleged illegal importation, without licence, of 13 container loads of firearms and ammunition into Nigeria from Iran in contravention of Section 1 (14) of the Firearms Act, Cap MI7, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria.

During a cross-examination, yesterday, the prosecution witness, Mr. Charles Okpekor, who was cross-examined by the defence counsel, said Jega had claimed ignorance of the content of the13 container loads of arms and ammunition imported into the country from Iran last October.Part of Jega statement, read:

• “they (Masud and Aghajani) asked me to allow them used my name and the address to send the goods in transit to Nigeria, before being cleared for The Gambia.
• Masud and Aghajani thus deceived me into using my name and office address to send weapons instead of building materials they dubiously mentioned to me.”
• Further hearing in the matter was adjourned till March 21 and 22 for continuation of trial.

The Rest @ Forya Online

Viktor Bout and Richard Chichakli Indictment

The aleged Viktor Bout And Richard Chichakli indictment...

Vanuatu-based GT Group Behind North Korean Arms Shipment

Vanatu, an Island 2200 KM East of Australia, near Fiji is the base for GT Group, the owners of Viacom, a company formed in Aukland, New Zealand about 6 months ago. Viacom chartered the Viktor Bout Ilyushin-76 aircraft that was transporting 35 tonnes or arms, 140 crates, to parts unknown, possilby Iran. During a stopover,The plane was detained in Thiland, and TBDA suggests the deal may have been set up and coordinated by Russian Speakers out of Uzbekistan.

-Shimron Issachar


WELLINGTON (AFP) – The New Zealand government said Thursday it was investigating whether there were any links between a New Zealand-registered company and a huge cache of weapons flown out of North Korea.

The 35-tonne load, including missiles and rocket-propelled grenades, was discovered after the plane and its Belarussian pilot and four Kazakh crew landed to refuel at Bangkok's domestic airport on Friday.

A New Zealand foreign ministry spokeswoman said it was investigating reported New Zealand links to the shipment.

"We are aware of the media reports and are seeking to verify any substance to allegations of a New Zealand connection," the spokeswoman said.

Officials in Kazakhstan -- where an airline previously owned the seized Ilyushin Il-76 aircraft -- said the plane had been leased by the Georgian owners to a company called SP Trading in New Zealand.

"According to the information of the Kazakh diplomatic mission in Thailand and competent organs in Kazakhstan, the detained Ilyushin-76 aircraft was... rented to a New Zealand company, SP Trading Limited, to carry out the delivery of cargo," Kazakh foreign ministry spokesman Ilyas Omarov said Monday.

A company called SP Trading is on the New Zealand Companies Register with an office in Auckland. The only listed director is Lu Zhang and all the company shares are owned by another company Vicam (Auckland) Ltd.

Vicam in turn is owned by Vanuatu-based GT Group, whose website says it provides services including privacy, legal tax avoidance, and asset protection.

Attempts by journalists to visit or contact SP Trading, which was incorporated in July this year, and Zhang have been unsuccessful, New Zealand media reports said.

The Soviet-era aircraft was seized in the Thai capital on Friday during a refuelling stop and was discovered to be carrying about 35 tonnes of weapons from North Korea, in violation of UN sanctions against Pyongyang.

The plane's five crew members have been charged in Thailand with possessing war weapons but police said they deny knowing what they were transporting.

On Monday, a Thai court extended the detention of the crew so police could investigate further.

It is the first known airborne arms cargo seized under the latest UN resolution against North Korea -- adopted in response to Pyongyang's nuclear programme -- and Washington has hailed it as proof sanctions have been effective.

Thai media have claimed the authorities were tipped off about the plane by US intelligence.

The Rest @ AFP

Viktor Bout' Arms Transport Caught in Tailand With North Korean Arms

12/17/09 10:53 AM EST BANGKOK — Thai authorities were acting on a tip from the United States when they seized tons of illicit weapons from a plane from North Korea, a senior official said Thursday.

The Ilyushin Il-76 transport plane was impounded Saturday in Bangkok during what officials said was a scheduled refueling stop. Thai authorities found a reported 35 tons of weaponry aboard it, all exported from North Korea in defiance of U.N. sanctions.

Speaking at a news conference, National Security Council chief Thawil Pliensri confirmed media reports that there had been U.S. assistance in the seizure, but gave no details.

He said that Thailand was waiting for advice from the United Nations on whether the weapons should be destroyed.

The U.N. sanctions — which ban North Korea from exporting any arms — were imposed in June after the reclusive communist regime conducted a nuclear test and test-fired missiles. They are aimed at derailing North Korea's nuclear weapons program, but also ban it from selling any conventional arms.

Thawil revealed little else new at his news conference, which seemed aimed at quashing some rumors. He denied that Thailand would receive a reward or bounty for the seizure, or that it was pressured to act, saying it took action "as a member of the world community."

He added, however, that Thailand would like to be compensated if possible by the U.N. for the cost of transporting the weapons, which were taken to an Air Force base in the nearby province of Nakhon Sawan.

It is still not known where the weapons — said to include

• explosives,
• rocket-propelled grenades
• components for surface-to-air missiles
• and other armaments — were to be delivered.

The plane's papers, which described its cargo as oil-drilling machinery, said the shipment was to be delivered to Sri Lanka.

Arms trade experts have speculated that the cargo may have been destined for conflict zones in Africa, Iran or Myanmar.

U.S. Treasury Department records show that the plane had previously been registered with firms controlled by suspected arms trafficker Russian Viktor Bout, who is currently being held in Thailand.

The U.S. is trying to extradite him on terrorism charges. On Wednesday, he denied any involvement with the plane, according to Russian news agency ITAR-Tass, accusing the media of trying to influence the decision in his extradition hearing.

The crew — four from Kazakhstan and one from Belarus — have been jailed on illegal arms possession charges.

The wife of Mikail Petukhov — the Belarussian identified in Thai court documents — said he had served in the Soviet military and afterward took whatever job he could find. Vera Petukhova said her husband never knows who he'll be working with before going out on a job. A friend of Petukhov, 54, added that he also never knows what he'll be transporting.

"All the containers are sealed, and the captain only gets the printout of what is supposed to be inside them. But what's inside, that's a question for the people who load it onto the plane at the pick-up point," said Vladimir Migol, who also served in the Soviet air force and noted that many ex-service men struggled to find work after being discharged. Migol said while crew members such as Petukhov would never knowingly transport weapons, they are all aware of the risk but are usually desperate for jobs.

The plane was registered to Air West, a cargo transport company in the former Soviet republic of Georgia.

Kazakhstan's Foreign Ministry said this week that the plane was leased to New Zealand company SP Trading Ltd.

Authorities in New Zealand are investigating, a spokesman for its Foreign Ministry, James Funnell said Thursday.

"We have always been staunch supporters of the sanctions regime imposed against North Korea," Funnell told The Associated Press. "So we're very concerned by these allegations and are inquiring into them."

SP Trading is listed in the government's register of companies as having offices in Auckland, New Zealand's largest city, which names Lu Zhang as its director. The company's shares are held by nominee company VICAM (Auckland) Ltd. Listed phone numbers rang unanswered on Thursday.

Impoverished North Korea is believed to earn hundreds of millions of dollars every year by selling missiles, missile parts and other weapons to countries such as Iran, Syria and Myanmar.

Associated Press writer Simon Shuster contributed to this report from Kiev, Ukraine.

(This version CORRECTS that ITAR-Tass report was from Wednesday, not Thursday.)


The Rest @ the AP

Shimron Letters on Twitter

Finnair's Cargo Division Shipping Unregstered Arms

The significance of this Finnair Arms Investigation is the statement by the head of the Cargo division that the cargo Carrier is "under no obligation to secure permits".

This affects Africa because this is precisely the kind of perceived loophole that has Africa awash in Arms.

-Shimron Issachar

Finnair faces arms shipment probe -HS
24.6.2009 at 12:38

Finnish national daily Helsingin Sanomat reported Wednesday that Customs had seized an arms shipment from Finnair and added that the flag carrier was suspected of shipping weapons without due permits.

The aircraft parts, bound for Russia, had been flown in from India.
According to Helsingin Sanomat, Antero Lahtinen, the head of Finnair's cargo division, and a shift manager were suspected of export offences.

In 2004, a prosecutor decided not to press charges against Finnair over another arms shipment, underlining that a cargo carrier was under no obligation to secure permits.

The Rest @ Newsroom Finland

Shabaab & Dyncorp use the same Transport - Aerolift

STOCKHOLM (AFP) — Air cargo carriers used to smuggle weapons to war-torn parts of Africa have also been hired to deliver humanitarian aid and support peacekeeping operations, a leading peace think tank said Tuesday.

The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) said in a report that 90 percent of air cargo companies identified in arms trafficking-related reports had been used by UN agencies, European Union and NATO members as well as leading non-governmental organisations to deliver aid.

"For example, UN peacekeeping missions in Sudan have continued to use aircraft operated by (Sudan's) Badr Airlines even after the UN Security Council recommended an aviation ban be imposed on the carrier in response to arms embargo violations," the SIPRI report said.

The report also singled out other African carriers such as Astral Aviation, African International Airlines and the Sudanese-registered Trans Attico as being named in arms trafficking reports.

It also said several US private security firms hired air cargo carriers and aircraft which have been "involved in the trafficking of arms to militias which the US government have designated 'global terrorists'."

• The report cited Dyncorp, a company that provides security services for the US government, as having contracted Aerolift, a firm accused by the UN Security Council in 2006 of being involved in arms trading, to supply weapons to an Islamist militia that controls much of southern Somalia.

The militant group, Al-Shabab, was added by the US government to its list of terrorist organisations in March 2008 over alleged links to Al-Qaeda.

SIPRI's report added that air carriers involved in aid and peacekeeping operations were also used to transport "conflict-sensitive" goods such as cocaine, diamonds and other precious materials.

One of the report's authors, Mark Bromley, said that a more rigourous application of the EU's existing air safety regulations could play a crucial role in stemming the flow of weapons to Africa's conflict zones.

"Air safety enforcement could put hard core arms dealers out of business," Bromley said in a statement.

"Our research shows that companies named in arms trafficking-related reports have poor safety records. Safety regulations represent their Achilles heel, and can do to them what tax evasion charges did to Al Capone," he added.

The Rest @ AFP













US Dyncorp contracted Aerolift to supply weapons to an Islamist militia that controls much of southern Somalia

US private security firms hired air cargo carriers and aircraft which have been "involved in the trafficking of arms to militias which the US government have designated 'global terrorists'.

"The report cited Dyncorp, a company that provides security services for the US government, as having contracted Aerolift, a firm accused by the UN Security Council in 2006 of being involved in arms trading, to supply weapons to an Islamist militia that controls much of southern Somalia.

Source: AFP report Tuesday, 12 May 2009 - copy

Pakistan Tabliban Fund War with Gems

Daily Times4 May 2009
By Akhtar Amin

Swat Taliban are using money earned from mining and selling gemstones in Swat and Shangla for terrorism, entrepreneurs from the Swat valley said on Sunday.

Entrepreneurs in a Gem Bazaar – organised by the Pakistan Gems and Jewellery Development Company at Namak Mandi – told Daily Times that Taliban were using the money for terrorist activities in Swat, Buner and Dir districts of Malakand division.

• Babu Khan, an entrepreneur from Swat who had displayed emeralds in the bazaar, said that Taliban had started extensive mining through hired labourers and were selling the precious stones in the black market.
• He said plunderers had also taken over several mines of high quality gemstones, one of which had earned the government about Rs 90 million in a single auction in the past.
• Another entrepreneur from Swat, Muhammad Ali, told Daily Times that Taliban had also taken over the Mingora emerald mine.
• The Shamozai emeralds mine, some 25 kilometres from Mingora, and the Gujaro Killay emerald mine in the adjacent district of Shangla, are also under the control of the Swat Taliban.

Stones extracted from these mines are auctioned in the premises of the Mingora mine every Sunday, where dealers from all over Pakistan come to shop, he said.

The federal and provincial governments have not taken any action over “this looting and plunder of state property”, Muhammad Ali said. Imran Inam, a senior official of the Gems and Jewellery Development Company, told Daily Times that the US was also concerned over the Taliban occupation of emerald mines in Swat and Shangla and had talked to the Pakistani government.

The Rest @ Africa News Analysis

Posted by David Barouski at 00:19
Labels: Mining, Pakistan

MOGADISHU, May 3 (Reuters) -

Somalia's security minister on Sunday accused Eritrea of supplying arms to insurgents to fight the government.

"Eritrea is actively meddling in Somalia by importing weapons," Omar Hashi Aden told reporters.Eritrea has denied sending arms or material support to Somalia in the past.

"We ask the world community to do something about Eritrea's direct interference," he said.

• He said two flights from Eritrea had landed at a former military airport 110km (68.3 miles) southwest of the capital now under the control of the al Shabaab insurgents, who are on Washington list of terrorism groups.

(Reporting by Ibrahim Mohamed, Abdi Sheikh and Abdi Guled, Writing by Wangui Kanina)

The Rest @ Reuters Africa

Somalia Presidential Guard Sells Technicals to Shabaab

MOGADISHU, Somalia May 2 (Garowe Online)

Somalia: Presidential security forces 'sell armed trucks' to Al Shabaab2 May 2, 2009 - 9:55:19 AM

Somali government security forces aboard four armed trucks escaped from the Villa Somalia presidential compound on Friday with the goal of selling their weaponry to Islamist hardliners, Radio Garowe reports.

A security official at Villa Somalia who spoke on the condition of anonymity confirmed the report that the soldiers belonged to the Villa Somalia security force, guarding the palace where President Sheikh Sharif Ahmed calls home alongside African Union peacekeepers.

"The soldiers made a secret deal with Al Shabaab to sell four trucks and the big guns on top," said the security source.

A businessman at Mogadishu's Bakara Market said armed trucks with government insignia were seen around the market, which has been a stronghold of Islamist rebels since the Ethiopian intervention.

A government spokesman could not be reached for comment.

The Rest@ Garowe Online

Shabaab Threaten to Invade NE Kenya, Annex Under Sharia

26/4/09
1631 GMT

Al-Qaeda and Al-Shabaab militiamen in Somalia have reportedly issued fresh threats to the Kenyan government saying they would invade the North Eastern province with the intention of annexing and subjecting it to Islamic Law.

North Eastern PC Kimeu Maingi said the two militia groups have officially communicated to the government authorities saying they were determined to invade the province and make it part of their country and rule it using their religious laws.

Maingi said the abduction of several Kenyan citizens witnessed at the border town of Mandera was part of a wider scheme to force a reaction from the Kenyan government.

• Maingi expressed concern at the increasing cases of locals acquiring small arms from the strife-torn country which, he said, could be used in such an attck.
• Maingi, however, said the government had put up measures to counter such an attack from the militia including deploying extra troops to man the expansive and porous Kenya-Somalia border and the disarmament of residents in the province.
• Speaking at Warable in Fafi district during a relief food distribution exercise, the PC said it was unjustifiable for the locals to keep demanding food rations from the government when they routinely exchanged their livestock for firearms with Somali militias at the porous border.
  

Maingi's remarks came after a local resident, Sheikh Mohamed, surrendered a G3 rifle which, he admitted, had been used in clan wars pitting the Abdallah against the Abdwak.

• Early this year, two people were killed when members of these two clans clashed over ownership of a water pan and pastureland.
  
• The PC issued an indefinite ultimatum for locals to surrender the firearms they had illegally acquired from Somalia saying the government was committed to safeguarding its citizens by all means possible and no one would be allowed to own firearms illegally in the guise of protecting themselves.

The Rest @ Kenya BBC

Arms for Jihad

Ahmed Haenni, in his blog American Salafi, recently said he got a copy of Arm's for Jihad, and promises to review it and evaluate it's claims. That should be interesting to watch.

-Shimron