UAE foils attempt to illegally transfer weapons to Sudanese army

The United Arab Emirates announced Wednesday that its security services have foiled an attempt to illegally transfer weapons and military equipment to the Sudanese Armed Forces.

According to the UAE’s state news agency WAM, Attorney General Hamad Saif Al Shamsi said the authorities had arrested members of a network involved in brokering and trafficking military equipment without proper authorization from the relevant Emirati authorities.

Security officials discovered the weapons during an inspection of a private aircraft at one of the country's airports. The plane was carrying nearly five million rounds of ammunition. A portion of the transaction’s proceeds was also found in the possession of two suspects in their hotel rooms, the report added.

The investigation revealed links between the arrested individuals and senior Sudanese military figures, including former intelligence chief Salah Gosh, a former intelligence officer, an advisor to the former finance minister, a politician close to army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and Yasser al-Atta, as well as several Sudanese businessmen.

Authorities said the suspects had completed a multimillion-dollar deal involving Kalashnikov rifles, ammunition, machine guns, and grenades, which were transferred from the Sudanese army to an importing company based in the UAE.

The weapons were discovered aboard a private jet arriving from a foreign country, which had declared its cargo as medical supplies during a refueling stop. The military equipment was seized under the supervision of the Public Prosecution, according to the official statement.