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WEAPONS

Two arrested in Sweden in weapons deal sting

Swedish police have arrested two men at the behest of the US Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) for attempting to sell an AK-47 and a grenade launcher to an undercover agent from the Danish security service.

Published: 12 June 2012 17:19 CEST

The weapons were handed over to the agent from Denmark’s PET security service last spring.

The US DEA requested the arrest of the men, reported to be a 34-year-old and a 40-year-old.

Law enforcement officials suspect that a Swedish citizen currently imprisoned in the United States is behind the alleged weapons deal.

Paul Mardirossian, the Swede believed to be the mastermind behind the weapons sale, is a former owner of a string of clubs in the posh Stockholm neighbourhood of Stureplan, and has been held in the United States since May after being arrested in Panama trying to sell weapons to an undercover agent.

In January, he pleaded to charges of conspiring to supply weapons to Colombian guerrillas in exchange for cocaine.

Police in Sweden arrested the two men after receiving an international arrest warrant from Denmark.

The men were arrested Tuesday morning in Malmö and Stockholm and have being held in their respective locations.

“We’ve simply helped coordinate this action; it’s a Danish matter. We’ve done our parts and are now awaiting what will happen next,” detective Lars Öjelind of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) told the TT news agency.

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WEAPONS

Swiss weapons exports up 38 percent despite pandemic

Switzerland’s weapons exports have seen a 38 percent increase in 2020, according to official government figures.

Published: 20 October 2020 12:32 CEST
Swiss weapons exports up 38 percent despite pandemic
Swiss weapons exports are on track for their highest year on record. Photo: FABRICE COFFRINI / AFP

Switzerland exported CHF690 worth of weapons over the first nine months of 2020. That’s a 38 percent increase on the CHF500 million sold over the corresponding period in 2019. 

Switzerland’s State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) published the figures on Tuesday. 

The biggest customers for Swiss weaponry were Denmark, Indonesia and Germany. 

In total, 76 countries bought Swiss weapons during the period. 

According to current figures, weapons exports are on track to be the highest in Swiss history – beating the record of CHF893 million set in 2011. 

‘Death business is flourishing’ 

The news has been heavily criticised by a number of non-government organisations critical of weapons being sold to countries at war or who may use them against their own citizens. 

The Organisation for Switzerland without an Army (GSOA) and Terre des Hommes have been critical of the figures, particularly as the industry has called for a decrease in regulation in recent years. 

GSOA wrote in a statement “the death business is flourishing”. 

Saudi Arabia – currently involved in a conflict in Yemen – appear on the list, along with Brazil. Weapons opponents are concerned the Swiss exports could be used in the country’s slums, Der Bund reports. 

 

 

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