weapons trafficking

ADF STAFF The Nigeria Customs Service in mid-July seized 31 weapons, including pump action rifles, various pistols and 442 rounds of ammunition, at two ports in Lagos. The weapons were hidden in plastic drums and sacks of charcoal.…

ADF STAFF Decades of warfare, corruption and ethnic conflict have left West Africa awash in small arms that continue to fuel instability and extremism across the region. Although numbers are difficult to pin down, some experts estimate…

ADF STAFF As its battlefield losses mount in Ukraine, Russia is looking to Mali as a way to obtain weapons and circumvent international sanctions. Since its invasion of Ukraine, Russia has lost more than 2,000 tanks — about…

ADF STAFF Sudanese military officials reported on May 26 that they had intercepted a cache of weapons as they were being smuggled from an unspecified foreign country through the Red Sea region to rebels in the eastern part of the country.…

ADF STAFF Crime organizations and terrorist groups have woven a complex trafficking network moving illicit goods such as assault-style rifles, ammunition, explosives and fake medicine throughout the Sahel region. Once used for…

ADF STAFF The Egyptian Navy in late March received three Cyclone-class patrol boats from the United States government. The vessels previously named the USS Hurricane, USS Sirocco and USS Thunderbolt were delivered to Alexandria, a…

ADF STAFF Maritime leaders from 31 of Africa’s 38 coastal countries gathered in Cabo Verde in late March to discuss collaborative strategies to tackle sea crime during the first-ever African Maritime Forces Summit.  Expected to…

ADF STAFF People walk freely between Ghana and Burkina Faso where the towns of Paga and Dakola are joined. Aside from the rickety metal barriers and gate that cut across the main road, there is little indication of where one country ends…

ADF STAFF Authorities seized 3,000 rifles, hundreds of rounds of ammunition and antitank missiles from a fishing vessel in the Gulf of Oman on January 15. The Iranian weapons were destined for the Houthi militia in Yemen. Eleven…

ADF STAFF For years, Iranian weapons have wound up in Somalia, where they are sold to violent extremist groups such as al-Shabaab and the Islamic State. Through financial incentives, Iran established a proxy network in Somalia and has…