On 17/12/08 December I published this piece about the North Korean Arms detained in Thailand. I received the following comment, so in fairness I will publish the response in its entirety. It is unedited, an unverified, but if it comes from GT Group Limnitted, it suggests someone in the UK is behind SP Trading
Shimron Issachar

Ian Taylor said...
18 December 2009

SP Trading Limited – in reference to seized weapons in Thailand

GT Group Limited, Port Vila Vanuatu – We are a consulting company based in Vanuatu, providing various business and company incorporation services to professional clients internationally. We provide this service from Vanuatu, New Zealand, Cook Island, Samoa and other jurisdictions. Each jurisdiction has various requirements for due diligence and or identification of the beneficial owner or operator of the incorporated company.

GT Group Limited follows the due diligence and client identification requirements according to the laws of each jurisdiction from which it offers services. GT Group Limited is not responsible for the operation or activities of companies that it has incorporated. GT Group Limited may at times also supply a Nominee Director or Shareholder and in the case of SP Trading Limited, we can confirm that GT Group Limited has supplied such.

SP Trading Limited was incorporated by our New Zealand Agent the 22nd day of July, 2009 at the request of one of our professional clients based in the United Kingdom. The professional client met the due diligence requirements in place with regard to identification of the beneficial owner.

GT Group Limited confirms that it has no connection to the activities of SP Trading Limited and strongly emphasizes that it acted as an Incorporator and Registered Agent only.

All persons employed by, contracted by, or sub contracted by GT Group Limited in relation to the incorporation and Nominee Directorship and Nominee Shareholding of SP Trading Limited have no knowledge of the activities of SP Trading Limited and are in no way involved with the shipment of any items of any kind, at any location and by any means.

GT Group Limited has approached the New Zealand Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade in a pro-active move to fully cooperate with any investigation in any jurisdiction in relation to SP Trading Limited or its beneficial owners. As of the issue of this press release, GT Group Limited has in no way been contacted by any authority.

Time: 1:00PM, Vanuatu Time.

Date: December 18, 2009

Location: Port Vila, Vanuatu.

Contact person: Ian Taylor by telephone (+61) 450955048.

Further Comments: No further comments will be made by any person other than the above appointed person and any attempt to obtain comments from any other employee, manager, director, agent or associates will be met with a “no comment” response.


END GT GROUP LIMITED MANAGEMENT STATEMENT

2:28 AM

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

Somalia's Death Culture

MOGADISHU - Sitting on a mat at home between taking orders for arms on his two mobile phones, Osman Bare gives thanks for the riches flowing from Somalia's war.

"I have only been in the weapon business five years, but I have erected three villas. I have also opened shops for my two wives," said the 40-year-old, one of about 400 Somali men operating in Mogadishu's main weapons market.

"Peace means bankruptcy for us."

Awash with weapons

• Weapons are captured, sold and recycled constantly between both sides, experts say. Many arms have come from Ethiopian soldiers who intervened in Somalia between 2006 and early 2009.
  
• African Union peacekeepers have been accused of trafficking arms, and regional bodies say Eritrea -- among others -- is funneling weapons toward the rebels.
  
• Weapons are also said to pour across the porous borders of Kenya, Djibouti and Ethiopia, arriving by plane and through seas infested by pirates who are themselves armed to the teeth.

The Mogadishu arms market is just one part of an illicit global arms bazaar.

Largest stock ever

• Dealers like Bare say the main Irtogte market, within the sprawling Bakara commercial area of Mogadishu, is holding its largest stock ever, and gunrunners are rolling in money.
  
• The risks of being robbed, cheated or shot are high, however, and prices fluctuate greatly. They are at a low right now due to the abundance of supply.
  
• "The good thing is that our goods are not perishable," Bare said. "We get a lot of cash, but we are always in terror."
  
• Dealers say they can be arrested, or even beheaded by the Islamists, if caught outside the market.
  

"But inside our market, we are cocks. There are hundreds of retailers and wholesalers and each has four well-armed guards."

He said masked Islamists once picked him up, blindfolded him and took him to a well-known execution house when he was found carrying a U.S. M16 rifle ordered by a pirate.

As he was being beaten by gun-butt, a friend with good contacts in the al Shabaab insurgent movement came and rescued him.

"The government is better than Islamists -- they do not kill people. They take your property and jail you only for few days," Bare said.

While Islamists come to the market for purchases, traders said, arms are delivered to government and other buyers.

"We dismantle weapons and then secretly take them to anyone who needs to buy."

With the exception of pistols from Yemen, North Korean AK-47s, and hand-grenades from government supplies, most arms are second-hand, the dealers said.

One of the cheapest items is an Indian AK-47, at $140 each, but fighters disparage its poor quality compared to the heat-resistant North Korean version ($600) and the light Russian one ($400). At the top of the range of light weapons, the most expensive pistol, Russian-made, goes for $1,000.

Hand-grenades go for $25 each, landmines $100.

No shortage of sources
There is no shortage of sources for such weapons.

More fighting, more cash

• Somali bankers say the more the fighting, the more cash that arrives by wire transfers.
  
• "Last month has been very nice to us," said one banker, referring to the flare-up in Mogadishu.
  

The Rest @ MSNBC