Sophisticated weapons seized in Algeciras port

A COMBINED investigative unit UAR under the direction of the Customs department of Algeciras and made up of agents of the Guardia Civil and Customs Surveillance undertook an operation on August 4 it has just been revealed which saw the impounding of an arms shipment being sent from Ghana to the USA.

The intercepted consignment consisted of 737 assault rifles and 72 Swiss made grenade launchers, a total 809 illegal weapon.

This arrest is the result of collaboration between Spain and a number of customs departments throughout the world which allows suspect containers to be tracked and where necessary seized.

In this case, the suspect container was spotted in Ghana where it was loaded onto a ship which was bound for the port of Algeciras for onwards transmission to the United States. When the UAR unit opened the container, the weapons were found to be in ‘factory fresh’ condition except that the serial numbers had been removed.

The investigation is ongoing but is seen to be a major discovery in the fight against the illegal arms trade, especially at a time when terrorism is so prevalent around the world.