Vladimir Peftiev

These collection of Firms have been at the heart of  Arms sales to all kinds of groups in Africa. The EU has imposed sanctions to prevent them from doing many things including arms trafficking. Therefore, it is important to Africa to follow the movement of these men and businesses

Shimron Issachar


BRUSSELS - Selling arms firms from yourself to yourself, labelling petrol as solvents then petrol again - Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko is trying to make a living while being squeezed by the EU and Russia.

 Lawyers in the European External Action Service are scratching their heads at what to do about Belarusian oligarch Vladimir Peftiev's latest bid to avoid EU sanctions. 

Peftiev - Lukashenko's friend and alleged bag-man - is on an EU blacklist along with one of his firms, Beltekh Holding, which owns arms trader Beltechexport. But this week he sold his controlling stake in the holding firm to one Dmitry Gurinovich.

•  Beltekh Holding says Gurinovich is an alumnus of the Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration and part of the Russian presidential personnel reserve - a pool of people qualified for work in the Russian leader's chancellery.  He does not show up in the published lists of either body, however. 
•  An EU diplomat told this website he is in fact a former "advisor or aide of Peftiev or maybe he still is."  He added that the sale is an attempt to evade EU sanctions: "Formally, if the company does not belong to the sanctioned person any more, it should be delisted." 
•  A contact in the Berlin-based institute, the German Marshall Fund, said the transaction means "Peftiev actually sold the company from itself to itself." 

 The sale is his latest attempt to beat the EU ban:

• Peftiev and three of his firms, including Beltechexport, have four ongoing lawsuits at the European Court of Justice disputing EU claims that they feed Lukashenko. 
• Another Lukashenko-linked oligarch, Yuriy Chizh, in March got one of his companies, Belneftegaz, off the EU blacklist after Latvia intervened on his side. 

 According to Belarusian Tribunal, an NGO based in The Hague, Belneftegaz is part of a family of firms involved in a Russian oil scam worth $880 million a year.

•  Belarus imports Russian oil at domestic Russian prices.
•  But if it refines it and sells it to Europe it has to pay Russia a duty of between $300 and $500 a ton. 
• The arrangement does not cover solvents and thinners made using the oil, however. 
•  The NGO says Belneftegaz exports petrol labelled as solvent to Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and the Netherlands, where it is bought by offshore companies linked to the Belarusian regime, re-labelled as petrol, then sold again to EU companies. 
•  When Russian President Vladimir Putin visited Lukashenko on Thursday (31 May) in his first post-inauguration trip, he told media: "The very fact of my first foreign visit to brotherly Belarus reflects the special nature of our relations." A joint statement by the two men said: "Russia and Belarus will co-ordinate efforts to counter attempts to interfere in the internal affairs of [Belarus] and to apply pressure through the introduction of restrictive measures or sanctions."

 But in reality, Putin's embrace is more dangerous for Lukashenko than the EU's cold shoulder. The Kremlin is trying to strongarm Belarus to fully implement a state union with Russia which would reduce it to a de facto Russian province and make Lukashenko one of Putin's regional governors.

 Meanwhile, Kremlin loans to Minsk have seen it take control of Belarus' main strategic asset - the pipelines of Belarusian firm Beltransgaz, which pump Russian gas to Poland and Germany - in return.

 Belarusian Tribunal noted that "Russian authorities [are] perfectly aware" of the solvent scam "but for some unknown reason have ignored it. It is possible the fact of oil smuggling could be used by the Kremlin against Lukashenko in future."

The Rest @ The JPost

Sierra Leon Imports Small Arms

The Sierra Leone government has raised eyebrows around the international community after it imported several million dollars' worth of assault weapons ahead of the country's presidential elections.

Alarmed by the move, the United Nations on Thursday asked the insolvent West African nation to explain the purpose of its latest acquisitions. The international community's concern is based on the fact that presidential elections are due in November.

The UN demanded an explanation because Sierra Leone is still struggling to rebuild from the civil war and political tensions that plagued it from 1991-2002.

• The arms shipment was made in January but details were recently leaked to the UN Security Council. 
• A shipping bill indicated that machine guns and grenade launchers were part of the imported arsenal.
• UN envoy to Sierra Leone, Michael von der Schulenburg, told the Security Council that the arms shipment was "of great concern" because the West African country's Foreign Minister Joseph Dauda did not mention the guns in his latest address to the council.

"Sierra Leone is under no arms embargo," von der Schulenburg told journalists. "However, given Sierra Leone's progress in establishing peace and security throughout the country and its relatively low crime rate, it is not clear why the police would need such weapons."

According to reports, political tensions have been rising in the run up to the November polls with supporters of rival parties clashing in recent months.

"I would urge the government to full clarify these reports and, if true, explain the intended use of these weapons," the envoy said. According to von der Schulenburg, the November 17 poll, in which President Ernest Koroma is seeking a new term, would be a "major challenge for the country's nascent democracy."

Some reports claim that the arms were meant for a recently enlarged police para-military wing, the Operational Services Division.

The Rest @ The Africa Report

UN Firearms Protocol (UNFP) Creates Tighter Restrictions on European Arms Exports

The new EU legislation adopted by the Council is aimed at effectively fighting illegal arms trafficking through stronger rules for exports and imports of firearms and improving traceability. In particular, the Regulation sets up simplified procedures for temporary export, import and transit of small numbers of firearms for ‘verifiable lawful purposes’, such as recreational, repair or exhibition, in order to avoid unnecessary administrative burdens.

Furthermore, the tracing and control of imports and exports of civilian firearms from and to the EU territory (firearms intended for military purposes are governed by other rules) is improved thanks to the new regulation. Exports of firearms will be subject to export authorisations, containing the necessary information to trace them, including the country of origin, the country of export, the final recipient and a description of the quantity of the firearms and related items. The European Parliament already asked for more transparency on exports of arms in April 2011.

The Regulation adopted addresses trade and transfers with countries outside the EU, thereby transposing the provisions of Article 10 of the UN Firearms Protocol (UNFP) on ‘General requirements for export, import and transit licensing or authorization systems’. It applies to firearms, their parts and essential components and ammunition for civilian use.

The Rest @ Euroalert

KAS Engineering and Peter Mirchev, VIctor Bout's Bulgarian Arms Supplier

Last week, during the last of four interviews I conducted with Viktor Bout, an arms trafficker, for my story in this week’s New Yorker, Bout became somewhat annoyed.

 My reporting drew on a variety of sources—surveillance tapes and transcripts, testimony at trial, D.E.A. case files, data recovered from Bout’s computer, and many interviews—but some of the more illustrative descriptions of Bout’s career came from his own longtime friend and business associate, a Bulgarian arms broker named Peter Mirchev. Finally, Bout said, “Why don’t you just write an article about Peter Mirchev?”

It’s a fair question.

• After all, Mirchev is the one to whom Bout turned when men posing as members of the FARC expressed their interest in purchasing Iglas, a type of surface-to-air missile. 
• Bout was primarily a logistics and transport man. Mirchev was the weapons guy. 
• Since the early nineteen-nineties, Mirchev has run an arms-export company called KAS Engineering. Initially registered in Bulgaria, now licensed from the offshore haven of Gibraltar, 
• KAS Engineering brokers weapons deals for clients around the world by tapping into Mirchev’s contacts with manufacturers in Bulgaria and Ukraine. 
• Mirchev insists that he plays by the rules and doesn’t fulfill contracts for embargoed countries, though he subtly leaves open the possibility that weapons could be diverted: “My obligation is to put stuff inside the plane. From there, I don’t give a shit where the plane will go.” 
• He has a LinkedIn account and encourages contact from those desiring “new ventures,” “expertise requests,” and “getting back in touch,” among others. An American official I met overseas dubbed Mirchev a “real player.”

Bout went on trial in lower Manhattan this fall, on charges related to the FARC deal. Throughout, Mirchev struck me as the one person who could offer some genuine, unvarnished sense of what had occurred—and whether Bout had intended to go through with the sale. In pre-trial hearings, Bout’s lawyer, Albert Dayan, had left open the possibility that he would call Mirchev to testify. Dayan, however, didn’t bring any witnesses. The prosecutors were left pointing to a single phone conversation between Bout and Mirchev and a few references to Mirchev that Bout made in Thailand in order to make their case.

Then, on one of the last days of the trial, they projected a screenshot from Bout’s computer, showing a Microsoft Outlook entry for Mirchev that included an e-mail and cell-phone number. I called the number a few days later. Mirchev answered. He said that he never spoke to journalists, and was about to hang up when I told him where I’d gotten his number, how his name had already been dragged through the dirt in an American courtroom, and that I wanted to hear his side of things—in person. I said I could be in Sofia within a week or two. He finally agreed.

Mirchev offered to meet me at my hotel. A small, shifty man with boxy cheeks but an otherwise forgettable face, he entered the hotel lobby, shook my hand with a nervous twitch, and suggested we go somewhere else. We ended up two blocks away, at a café called Cookies. We ordered coffee, and, later, a couple of Johnnie Walker Blacks. It was early afternoon. Mirchev spent the rest of the day telling me how he met Bout, how they became good friends, how their families vacationed together, and how he supplied weapons to the young Russian.

So why was Mirchev not targeted, too? That’s a question only the D.E.A. could answer and, for this piece, I wasn’t granted any access to serving D.E.A. agents. But it is apparent that the sting, named Operation Relentless, set its sights solely on Bout.

Anyone else swept up in the raid—apart from Andrew Smulian, who witnessed the evolution of the case and who seemed most ripe for “flipping” and testifying against Bout— was quickly discarded. For instance, the D.E.A. and the Royal Thai Police arrested Bout’s bodyguard Mikhail Belezorosky in Thailand. They briefly questioned him. “First, he said he didn’t speak English. Then he said he was a taxi-driver. Then he said he was on vacation. Then he said he was a taxi-driver on vacation. He was very, very confused,” said Tom Pasquerello, the D.E.A.’s regional director in Bangkok. Another agent gave Belezorosky twenty dollars' worth of Thai baht and told him to leave Bangkok immediately.

Mirchev is nonetheless careful about where he travels these days. Last week, he called me to ask about a woman from The New Yorker who had been calling him, speaking flawless Russian. (Mirchev and I have talked a handful of times on the phone since our meeting in Sofia.) He explained that she was a fact-checker and suggested that the three of us could all get dinner and drinks one evening if he ever visited New York. Then he laughed. “I’m not coming to New York anytime,” he said. “Or else I’ll be in the jail cell next to Viktor.”

The Rest by Nicholas Schmidle @  the New Yorker Magazine

Bangladesh Arms Trafficking an International Affair

The port city of Chittagong is a transit point in international small arms trafficking. In an interview with THE WEEK, Chittagong police commissioner Mohammad Abul Kashem spoke about his resolve to stop this menace. Excerpts:

Is Chittagong a key transit route for arms trafficking in South Asia?
I don't agree with that assumption. Yes, there have been incidents of smuggling. We have cracked down on illegal arms trade. To understand how arms trafficking works, you have to look at the larger picture.

What is the larger picture?

• All weapons we have seized in Chittagong are manufactured in foreign countries. 
• Most of these come through the sea. 
• There are people: the international arms companies and their dealers who sell these small arms to terrorists, criminals and underworld dons. These arms dealers enjoy political backing.

What drives the trade of illegal arms in Bangladesh? There are two reasons behind this. First, Chittagong is a port city with a long and porous border. Second, our country is situated between the Golden Triangle of drug-producing countries and the arms-producing sub-region.

What was the most surprising thing about the Chittagong arms haul?
The involvement of our top intelligence officers was really shocking.

What steps have you taken to prevent arms smuggling?
We have improved our coastal security. There is better coordination between our coast guard and the navy. But, we have only a limited police force.

The Rest @ The Week

South Sudan Arms Trafficking

Posted Recently in a Linkedin Group:

"Hi all we are leading manufacturer of quality armoured vehicles in UAE and looking for someone who would be interested to take the same forward in their region. Please write to raj1111116@gmail.com"

Started by RAJIV GUPTA, RAJIV GUPTA GROUP
CEO at MAHINDRA EMIRATES VEHICLE ARMOURING FZ LLC
United Arab Emirates

apparently attempting to establish connections in South Sudan...

They don't advertise arms, per se....but offer an armored vehicle with weapon mounts...

Santa Cruz, Bolivia Interested in Emmerson Mnangagwa or Zimbabwe Arms

An IP Adress in Santa Cruz, El Beni, Bolivia came directly to a page discussing China's delivery of AK 47s and other small arms to Zimbabwe.

This is not a regular reader or subscriber and suggests they were given the link and went directly to that article...

...Both Countries are small socialist dicatatorships; Someone in Bolivia may be looking for arms or has specific interest in Emmerson Mnangagwa

-Shimron Issachar
******************************

Entry Page Time:
17 Nov 2011 17:55:31
Visit Length:
0 seconds
Browser: Google Web Preview
OS: Unknown
Resolution:
1024x1024


Location:
Santa Cruz, El Beni, Bolivia
IP Address:
Telefónica Celular De Bolivia S.a. (190.104.4.76)
Referring URL: (No referring link)
Visit Page:
Shimron Letters: Emmerson Mnangagwa in Zimbabwe Gets 20,000 AKs from China

Viktor Bout and Murmar Gaddafi

Libya, Nov 6(ANI): Records found in killed Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi’s intelligence office in Tripoli show that the United Kingdom had warned his regime about a Russian arm’s dealer convicted in the United States last week.

According to the New York Daily News, the documents found by human rights activists indicate that Viktor Bout was trying to expand his operations in Libya while Gaddafi was still in power.

Bout was convicted in New York on Wednesday on federal charges that he conspired to kill Americans and US officials, deliver anti-aircraft missiles and aid terrorists.

The new records indicate that British officials in 2003 told then-Libyan intelligence chief Musa Kusa that Bout had a “considerable commercial presence in Libya” and wanted to expand his interests there. (ANI)

The Rest @ Truth Drive

UN to Take Action as Eritrea and Others Still Trafficking Arms to al Shabaab

The troops backed by TFG soldiers have now secured the towns of Qoqani, Tabda and Afmadow in Somalia.No casualties were reported on the Kenyan side and the port of Kismayu on Somalia’s coastline is the next clear target as terrorist group.
Kenya has accused Eritrea of being behind three planeloads of weapons delivered last month to Al Shabaab at Baidoa airport.
On Tuesday, President Kibaki welcomed the support Kenya has obtained from both its citizens and governments in the operation against the militants who seek to destabilise the region’s economies.

While opening the Regional Infrastructure Conference at the Kenyatta International Conference Centre in Nairobi, Kibaki said: "As we embark on planning our infrastructure programmes, I wish to underscore the importance of peace and stability in our region."
Meanwhile, a police Toyota Land Cruiser escorting aid agency vehicles headed back to the UN complex in Dadaab reportedly hit a landmine on Tuesday along the road to Hagdera refugee camp, injuring two people.
North Eastern PPO Leo Nyongesa confirmed the incident. Last night President Kibaki worked late at his Harambee House offices discussing internal security matters with top departmental officials.
In July, the UN Somalia-Eritrea Sanctions Monitoring Group cited what it called "credible information received from multiple sources" that said aircraft carrying arms, ammunition, equipment, militia commanders and wounded fighters on behalf of Al Shabaab landed in Baidoa, Baledogley and Kismayu from Eritrea.
The UN Group is already preparing a list of individuals and States targeted for sanctions.
In addition to Eritrean officials, the list is expected to include Mr Abdirahman Abdi "Salawat"; a Somali national who the UN says illegally obtained Kenyan identity cards and passports. It gives the numbers for Salawat’s Kenyan passports as A739601 and A183790 under the alias "Abdi Warsame Dirie".

He is accused of actively smuggling Somali emigrants to Europe since 2004, and acting as broker for Somalis who encounter "immigration difficulties in Kenya".

Illegal immigrants

Also named is Salawat’s alleged associate, a Mr Abdullahi Abdinur Mohamed ‘Topolino’ who it says held "a Sh350,000 a month lease agreement for a property on 10th Street, Eastleigh. This property, which subsequently came to be known as Top Ten Hotel (now called Gaman Hotel)."

The two are accused of facilitating the provision of forged Kenyan identity cards and passports to illegal Somali emigrants.

Eritrea has dismissed the claims against it as a "fabrication" and a ploy by its bitter rival Ethiopia to undermine its international standing.

But the Monitoring Group says it has evidence of Eritrea violating various Security Council resolutions. They include resolution 1844 of 2008 and1907 of 2009.

It says "the Government of Eritrea conceived, planned, organised and directed a failed plot to disrupt the African Union Summit in Addis Ababa by bombing civilian and governmental targets."
The UN also says Eritrea’s intelligence apparatus, which spearheaded the AU bombing plot, is also active in Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, and Uganda, making it a threat to those countries.

Sources for the UN include Eritrean military, intelligence and diplomatic officials who it says "retain active contacts within the Government of Eritrea and PFDJ, and in some cases were able to obtain information from serving Eritrean officials."

The UN Monitoring Group report says Al Shabaab in the past benefited from the fact that "the Transitional Federal Government security forces and their local allies continue to be little more than clan-based militias with loyalties to individual commanders and that look to Amisom rather than to the Government for leadership and support".

\Also targeted for sanctions are heads of indigenous networks engaged in recruitment, radicalisation and resource mobilisation on behalf of Al Shabaab in Kenya. It mentions the Muslim Youth Centre "commonly known as Pumwani Muslim Youth", which it accuses of actively recruiting for the insurgents.
The centre has since denied the allegations that it facilitated travel to Somalia for Kenyan youth recruited to train and fight for Al Shabaab.

The group also names several hotels in Nairobi as "safe houses" for illegal Somali emigrants with links to Salawat.

Best equipped

Reports also quote the African Union’s Peace and Security Commissioner Ramtane Lamamra as saying the entry into the conflict by the Kenya Defence Forces – arguably the best equipped and most disciplined military force in the region – offers the best chance yet in years of cutting of supply lines to Al Shabaab.
KDF has already cut off a key revenue stream of the insurgents by blocking smuggling routes for charcoal, electronics, and clothing across the Kenya-Somali border.

The Monitoring Group on Somalia and Eritrea estimates that by July, Al Shabaab was generating between $70 million to $100 million per year in revenue from extortion and taxing traders in areas under its control.

"You see Al Shabaab is under pressure because Kenya is taking advantage of assets, helicopters, aircraft, and navy vessels. So clearly today, we have even the possibility to implement a no-fly zone, thanks to Kenya’s assets. So it is different," he said.

Six East African countries involved in fighting the insurgents have also appealed for more international support to assist the African Union Mission in Somalia, following a meeting in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on Monday.
The meeting heard that Al Shabaab is in disarray following its ouster from 98 per cent of the capital Mogadishu, and the ongoing joint offensive by the Kenya Defence Forces and soldiers of Somalia’s Transitional Federal Government (TFG).

The pledge to pursue sanctions against the insurgents and their allies came from the UN special envoy for Somalia, Augustine Mahiga, who said a UN Security Council-appointed monitoring group will recommend broad sanctions against Al Shabaab and its allies that include freezing their assets as well as ban on travel and import of weapons.

The meeting involved the defence chiefs of Kenya, Uganda, Ethiopia, Djibouti, Somalia, and Burundi met at African Union headquarters.

Other sources quote UN Chief of Field Operations, Susana Malcorra who is in the region to assess conditions, as saying closer co-operation among countries that oppose Al Shabaab will be necessary to ensure defeat of the insurgents and restoration of peace in Somalia.

By Collins Kweyu in Tabda

The Rest @ The Standard (Kenya)

Eritrea Still Trafficking Point Arms to al Shabaab

The Kenyan military said two planes landed at an al-Shabab controlled airfield in Somalia this week, loaded with arms destined for the al-Qaida-linked group. The news immediately heightened longstanding suspicions that Eritrea is arming Somali militants.

The Kenyan military did not say from where the airplanes came, but that they landed in the south-central town of Baidoa, an al-Shabab stronghold, and that they were carrying weapons for the militant group.

Local media reports were quick to pin the shipment on Eritrea, which has long been accused of supplying al-Shabab.

The Eritrean Foreign Ministry issued a statement Wednesday denying the accusations, calling them “pure fabrications and outright lies.” It also accused its regional rival Ethiopia of being the chief author of a disinformation campaign aimed at discrediting Eritrea.

But, Rashid Abdi, an analyst with the International Crisis Group says Eritrea has a history of supplying militants in Somalia.

“I think no one doubts that Eritrea has throughout the last four years been supportive of al-Shabab, sending in weapons, sending in trainers and also training hundreds of al-Shabab fighters in some of its military camps," said Abdi. "But, as I said, it is very difficult to confirm this news story that this support has been resumed by Eritrea.”

A United Nations report released in July alleged Eritrea had flown weapons and fighters into Somalia on numerous occasions.

The report also said Eritrea has been funneling about $80,000 per month to people linked to al-Shabab through the Eritrean embassy in Nairobi. Eritrea has consistently denied the accusations.

Why fund al-Shabab? Rashid Abdi says it is all about Ethiopia:

“Eritrea definitely has been supportive of al-Shabab for a long time and this support is not ideological, it is essentially meant to counter Ethiopia's influence in Somalia and during the Ethiopian occupation, that was the height of Eritrea's involvement in Somalia,” he said.

Eritrea and Ethiopia fought an intense border war between 1998 and 2000 and tensions have remained high ever since. Analysts say this prompted Eritrea's alleged support of al-Shabab during Ethiopia's invasion of Somalia in 2006.

Now Kenyan troops are pursuing al-Shabab in Somalia, in a cross-border operation that began nearly three weeks ago.

Kenya blames the militants for a spate of recent kidnappings and attacks and has vowed to continue fighting until the threat is eliminated and Kenyans can feel secure.

This week, a spokesperson for the Kenyan army warned of impending military strikes on al-Shabab targets across Somalia, including Baidoa, Afmadow and the port town of Kismayo.

The Rest @ VOA

Viktor Bout Convicted Sentencing in 2012

NEW YORK, Nov. 2 (UPI) -- Viktor Bout was convicted Wednesday of peddling military arms to undercover agents the Russian thought were Colombian rebels bent on killing U.S. soldiers.

It took a federal court jury in New York that heard three weeks of testimony about 8 hours of deliberations to find the man dubbed the "Merchant of Death" guilty on four counts of conspiring to kill Americans, exporting anti-aircraft missiles and aiding terrorists, the New York Daily News reported.

The 44-year-old weapons dealer is to be sentenced Feb. 8. He could receive life in prison.

Federal prosecutor Preet Bharara expressed pleasure with the "swift verdict."

"Justice has been done and a very dangerous man will be behind bars," he said.

"Viktor Bout was ready to sell a weapons arsenal that would be the envy of some small countries."

Defense attorney Kenneth Kaplan said the verdict would be appealed.

"We are disappointed. We gave it a good fight," he said. "We still have legal options."

Bout, a former Soviet military officer, was arrested in Thailand in 2008 on charges he allegedly offered to sell Russian anti-aircraft weapons to FBI agents posing as members of the Colombian militant group FARC.

In closing arguments Tuesday in federal court, Assistant U.S. Attorney Brendan McGuire said Bout offered to be a "one-stop shop" for FARC.

CNN said American officials consider Bout among the most notorious of global arms traffickers. The 2005 Nicolas Cage film "Lord of War" was inspired by Bout's life.

Defense attorney Albert Dayan contended Bout, who is in the transport business, was baited by federal agents into selling weapons to order to close a deal for airplanes.

the Rest @ UPI

Read more:

Viktor Bout Trial I

U.S. prosecutors insist that the trial of accused Russian arms broker Viktor Bout, which opened in Manhattan federal court this week, is an open-and-shut case.

During a U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) sting operation in Bangkok in March 2008, the alleged arms dealer, known as the Merchant of Death, was caught on tape describing his plan to sell millions of dollars in weapons to the Colombian rebel group the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) to "kill American pilots."

"This is not a complicated case," Assistant U.S. Attorney Brendan McGuire told a federal jury on Wednesday, Oct. 12, during his opening argument, before itemizing a shopping list of weapons Bout pledged to supply to the rebels. "It's all on tape.... This man, Viktor Bout, agreed to provide all of it to a foreign terrorist organization he believed was planning to kill Americans."

Sure, it may be a slam dunk. But Bout's lawyer, Albert Dayan, provided by far the more dramatic narrative, weaving together a complex opening argument this week that seemed like it came straight out of a David Mamet play.

It's true, Dayan said, that federal informants lured his client into entering into discussions about a plan to purchase for the FARC 100 surface-to-air missiles, 20,000 AK-47 rifles, 20,000 fragment grenades, 740 mortars, 350 sniper rifles, five tons of C-4 explosives, and 10 million rounds of ammunition. But he said Bout was playing his own con, luring them into purchasing two cargo planes he was trying to unload for $5 million while holding up the promise of supplying weapons that would never be delivered.

"The simple and very profound truth is that Viktor Bout never wanted, never intended, and never was going to sell arms," Dayan said, a Queens, N.Y., criminal attorney. "He played a perfect sucker to catch a sucker."

The success of Dayan's trial strategy will require jurors to imagine a world in which nobody can be trusted and everyone -- including the good guys -- is motivated by selfish interests. That's not such a tall order, given the remarkably opaque nature of the illicit arms trade, which occurs outside the reach of international laws and regulations and relies on the cooperation of a far-flung network of shady entrepreneurs willing to make a buck off the backs' of some of the world's most desperate people.

The Rest @ Foreignpolicy (US)

West Africans Ask the UN For Help to Stop Piracy and Trafficking

West Africans Call For UN Involvement against Piracy

Tuesday, 27 September 2011, 12:16 pm
Press Release: United Nations
West African Officials Call For Greater UN Involvement in Fight against Piracy

New York, Sep 26 2011 - Top West African officials are calling for greater United Nations and international support to prevent the region’s coasts from becoming a haven for pirates and to fight growing drug and arms trafficking.

“The evils of drug trafficking, piracy, trafficking of illicit goods and arms trafficking have reared their ugly heads across the sub-region,” Gambian Vice President Isatou Njie-Saidy told the General Assembly at the start of the fifth day of its annual general debate. “The nature and extent of these crimes call for swift international action to nip them in the bud before it is too late.

“As these crimes feed on each other and sow the seeds of terror, economic sabotage and the collapse of social order, we must pool our resources together in the areas of detection, surveillance, law enforcement and prosecution in order to deny the culprits safe havens.

“In order to do this, we must come together and agree on a framework for cooperation with the support of the international community. We look forward to greater United Nations engagement with regional and subregional leaders and organizations in stamping out these menaces.”

Togolese Prime Minister Gilbert Fossoun-Houngbo referred to recent acts of piracy off the coasts of Togo and Benin. “At a time when the West African region is witnessing a resurgence of violence due to drugs and terrorism, our coasts cannot be allowed to be taken hostage by pirates,” he told the Assembly on Saturday, calling for closer cooperation between all countries to confront the new phenomenon.

“The crises and conflicts, the threats to international peace and security, such as piracy, cyber-crime and drug trafficking, which undermine efforts to consolidate peace in the world, must impel the international community to rethink the UN role in the context of security and economic and social development.”

At the end of last month the Security Council voiced concern over increasing piracy, armed robbery and reported hostage-taking in the Gulf of Guinea, saying the crimes were having an adverse impact on security, trade and other economic activities in the sub-region.

Mr. Fossoun-Houngbo also called for urgent UN and international steps to confront the drought and famine in the Horn of Africa where tens of thousands of people have already starved to death and 13.3 million people are threatened.

Both officials called for reform of the 15-member Security Council, expanding it and making it more representative of the regions of the world and correct what Mr. Fossoun-Houngbo called “flagrant and unacceptable injustices,” and Ms. Njie-Saidy termed “the glaring under-representation of Africa.”

“Africa needs to be adequately and properly represented and we will not give up on what is a very legitimate demand. What is even more appalling is that negotiations are progressing at snail’s pace,” she said, stressing that reform is long overdue, “and the lack of it is undermining the credibility of the organ and the legitimacy of its decisions.”

For more details go to UN News Centre at http://www.un.org/news

Reports of Gaddafi Mercenaries

I fought for Gathafi and I came back injured and without a penny," says Silimane Albaka, one of hundreds of Niger's Tuaregs recruited by the Libyan regime to fight the rebels.

Albaka, a veteran of the Tuareg rebellions in 1990 and 2009, battled the anti-regime forces for four months before fleeing back to Niger three weeks ago.

The 56-year-old father of seven returned to the northern city of Agadez with a chest wound from the battle for Misrata and scarcely able to feed his family.

He says he was contacted in April by Agaly Alambo, a key player in the second Tuareg revolt who settled in Tripoli.

• Thousands of Tuaregs took refuge in Libya following the rebellions which shook Mali and Niger over the past two decades.
• "There were 229 of us ex-fighters who left. They promised each of us an advance of 3.2 million CFA francs (about 5,000 euros), but I haven't seen a penny," said Albaka."They said that after the victory, Gathafi was going to shower us with gifts but all I saw was the hail of NATO aircraft fire," said the heavy weapons expert.

"Since the end of July, about 200 Tuareg mercenaries fled Libya for Agadez, about 500 are in Sirte, but I think all the others are dead," said Albaka.

A Tuareg source said that about 1,500 ex-rebels from Niger fought for Gathafi, most of whom were living in Libya after laying down arms in 2009.

The source said members of the strongman's regime came to Agadez in April with briefcases stuffed with cash and recruited "hundreds" of young people.

"We handed two million CFA francs (3,000 euros) to each recruit and took them on a short training session in the Libyan desert," said a Tuareg intermediary in Agadez who did not want to be named.

Almoudene Moha, another Tuareg ex-rebel who returned two weeks ago, said the intense NATO bombardments and heavy killings panicked the fighters.

"We organised an escape in our patrol vehicle," said the ex-mechanic "enrolled by force" by Gathafi loyalists.

Former Tuareg fighter Lamine Souleymane, 39, said he and three comrades ran more than 80 kilometres (50 miles) after deserting a Tripoli garrison.

"We pretended to hold prayers far away from the camp one time and we stole a vehicle which we had sold in Agadez," said Souleymane, who arrived back two days ago.

"Gathafi's soldiers came into our apartments and recruited 110 of us. They dangled about one million CFA francs (1,500 euros) in front of us, a house and Libyan nationality," said Abdoulaye Ahmadou, 36, who was unemployed when recruited by pro-Gathafi forces in April.

"It was hellish. One evening I hid in a supply truck. Once in town, I rejoined the immigrants who were returning home," he said, adding that many weapons were abandoned in the desert.

The "Mourtazak" (Arabic for mercenaries) are currently coming back unarmed but their return is causing concern in Niger where about 211,000 people have fled from the violence in Libya since February.

In Mali locals have warned that the Tuaregs' return with Libyan heavy weaponry might benefit Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), which originated in Algeria and operates in several countries.

By Boureima Hama - AGADEZ (Niger)

The Rest @ Middle East Online

BeltechExport Cataloge in Qaddafi's Headquarters

Among Qaddafi's Intelligence Papers in LIbya, a Beltech Export weapons catlaogue. The Belorus Arns Dealer has exported arms to most African Countries,

It is guarded by armed people; however, nobody is responsible for the intelligence archive now, notes nn.by. Photo reporters have noticed a catalogue of “Beltechexport” among the other documents – this Belarusian company exports weapons. Let us remind you that Uladzimir Peftsiyeu’s company is affected by the economic sanctions imposed on the Belarusian authorities by the European Union.

The Rest @ Euradio

Vladimir Gavrilov Aleged Russian Arms Trafficker Detained in Greece

Police in northern Greece say they have detained a Russian citizen wanted in Peru for a case of arms trafficking to Colombia's leftist guerrilla group FARC.

Police say the man was arrested Friday in a hotel near Thessaloniki. He will appear before an appeals court Monday in connection with an international warrant issued against him by Peru.

Police officials told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the investigation is ongoing that the suspect is named Vladimir Gavrilov.

Police say Gavrilov allegedly partVladimir Gavrilov.icipated in a deal involving 10,000 Kalashnikov assault rifles, purchased in Jordan and parachuted to the FARC in 1999. Former Peruvian spymaster Vladimiro Montesinos was sentenced in September 2006 to 20 years for masterminding the deal.

The Rest @ Taiwan News

Al Qaeda's Africa Express-Three arested

On the trafficking route from Sudan to Somalia, three Low level gun runners have been arrested in Moroto, Uganda. They may know the logistician running the supply chain.

Three men two other Kenyans have been arrested in Moroto for alleged arms trafficking. They are Peter Amadoi from Kitale Kenya, Loito Madelynoroto, Uganda. from Lokiliyama in Kenya and Ben Okello, a resident of Pallisa district.

Read more: http://ugandaradionetwork.com/a/story., Kenyaphp?s=36280#ixzz1W9HtmSUl

Al Qaeda in North Africa After Bin Laden

Posted at Vimeo 2 MOnth ago.

TERRORISM IN NORTH AFRICA AFTER BIN LADEN: CHALLENGES FOR US POLICY from ASMEA on Vimeo.

AQIM with About a ton of Libyan Semtex

AQIM: how to protect Algeria suicide bomber 05/08/2011 at 09h: 30

 The safety device has been strengthened in Algiers. Bomb attacks against convoys of the army, suicide ...

 For three months, there has been an upsurge in terrorist violence. Trafficking of arms from Libya are not strangers and authorities feared the worst during Ramadan. Algeria is under surveillance ...

 On the eve of Ramadan, the month in which the jihadists of Al Qaeda in Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) mission is to increase the coup, Abu Musab Abdelwadoud - Abdelmalek Droukdel real name - national emir of terrorist organization, confirmed that the group recovered nearly a ton of Semtex from Libya arsenals in June. 

 July 16, in fact, a double suicide bombing targeted the police station in Bordj Ménaïl, 60 km east of Algiers. Result: two dead, including a civilian, and a dozen injured. Nine days later, Thénia in Kabylia, an Atos - a low-end car manufacturer Hyundai South Korean popular in Algeria - is intercepted at a roadblock. On board, three suicide bombers, including Abdelqahar Benhadj (see box below).

When police ordered him to stop, the driver refused and darkens. One of the gendarmes draws and fires a single bullet. The vehicle exploded. The violence of the explosion is such that a police source estimated that the three men were carrying several hundred kilograms of explosives. Were they in Algiers to commit their crimes? "Not likely, said a police superintendent. The terrorists know they have no chance with el-fnek. " 

The "Fennec", an explosive detector about the size of a remote control, with an antenna, powers all the barriers controlling access to capital. "Since we have this equipment, acquired in 2008 from a U.S. firm, or any car bomb containing explosives could not enter Algiers, said the Commissioner. This is why suicide bombers avoid the city, but it's not like they lack. "In fact, the last suicide bomber that hit the capital was in December 2007.

A jihadist drove his truck against the UN headquarters on the heights of Algiers, killing 67 people including 10 UN employees. Since then, this type of attack focuses on Kabylia, which houses the headquarters of maquis Abdelmalek Droukdel. "It is much easier to secure the capital by building barriers around the Kabylie filter with its dense road network," said a senior officer (since June, a presidential decree has placed all of the forces responsible for the fight terrorism under the command of the army). The fact remains that the safety was further strengthened in Algiers . The increased activity of AQIM is not limited to suicide attacks, the organization conducts operations knuckle-fist against the police. "Since mid-April, we lost about fifty soldiers, police and gendarmes, said the officer.

 The Rest @ GrendelReport

Viktor Bout Trial set for October 2011

By Bob Van Voris - Aug 2, 2011 11:34 AM CT

Viktor Bout, who is accused of conspiring to sell weapons to a Colombian terrorist group, lost a second bid to have the charges thrown out.
U.S. District Judge Shira Scheindlin in Manhattan today rejected Bout’s arguments that the U.S. unfairly targeted him for prosecution and illegally extradited him from Thailand. Last month, Scheindlin rejected Bout’s attempt to have the case dismissed on jurisdictional grounds.
Bout was arrested in 2008 in Bangkok by U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agents in a sting operation. The government said undercover agents told Bout they were buying weapons for the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, including surface-to-air missiles, armor-piercing rocket launchers and machine guns.

Bout, a Russian citizen, argued in court papers that he was “vindictively targeted for prosecution” because the U.S. Defense Department was allegedly embarrassed by reports in 2006 that companies Bout controlled were supplying U.S. armed forces in Iraq.

“I am now looking forward to trial in October, where I’m confident it will become clear that this was a completely DEA- created sting and that Mr. Bout never intended to transport arms to them,” Bout’s lawyer, Albert Dayan said.

The Rest @ Bloomberg

The case is U.S. v. Bout, 08-cr-0365, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York

Bob Van Voris in Manhattan federal court at rvanvoris@bloomberg.net.
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Michael Hytha at mhytha@bloomberg.net