Arrest of Four Arms Traffickers in Italy; 'Destination Iran and Libya'

On Tuesday, February 1, the Italian police announced that they had arrested four members of an arms and dual-use goods trafficking gang. According to a report by the German news agency, the Italian police stated that these four individuals were considering selling Soviet-made helicopters, machine guns, ammunition, anti-tank missiles, and surface-to-air missiles to customers in Iran and Libya. The report indicates that three of the suspects are Italian, while the fourth is a Libyan national. It adds that these individuals trafficked goods that could have dual-use applications. According to the Italian police, these traffickers had 'close ties with important political and military figures in Asian and Middle Eastern countries such as Iran and Libya.' The report states that this gang sent trafficked goods to Iran and Libya under the guise of companies in Tunisia and Ukraine from 2011 to 2015. It mentions that two of these individuals, who have converted to Islam, are accused of negotiating to sell materials to Iran that could be used in the manufacture of munitions. The police stated that they found no evidence of these individuals having extremist views or connections to the Islamic State (ISIS). On February 1, the Russian news agency Interfax reported that a military shipment from a plane bound for Iran was discovered at the 'Juliani' International Airport in Kyiv. According to this report, guards on February 1 found 17 boxes containing undocumented shipments during inspections of air cargo destined for Iran at the Juliani International Airport in Kyiv, which were not mentioned in the flight manifest. Three boxes from the discovered shipment contained parts used in missiles, while the rest were filled with aircraft components. The aircraft crew stated that they believed the boxes contained aircraft repair parts. The Iranian embassy in Ukraine denied any connection between Tehran and this issue.