Interpol warns of weapons trafficking after war in Ukraine

Shafaq News/ The chief of Interpol raised alarms about a possible uptick in weapons trafficking once the war in Ukraine ends.

Interpol Secretary-General Jurgen Stock told the Anglo-American Press Association that he has "no doubt" illegal arms trafficking will increase.

"We have seen that in the Balkans region," Stock said. "We have seen that in theaters in Africa, organized crime groups try to exploit this chaotic situation, availability of weapons and even weapons used by the military."

Small weapons are the main concern, he said.

Stock encouraged Interpol's 195-member countries to "intensively use available databases that can help trace and track weapons, for instance, those stolen in another country."

"No country in our region can deal with it in isolation because the criminals I'm talking about are operating globally," Stock said.

Interpol, based in Lyon, France, does not carry out investigations but provides training for police and customs officers to, for instance, identify trafficking routes, Stock said.

Since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, many of the world's nations have sought to support Ukrainians by sending weapons.

As of April 28, 2022, 31 nations, including many European countries and the U.S., Australia, and Japan, have sent military aid to Ukraine to help defend against the attack from Russia.

Guns, ammunition, anti-tank, anti-aircraft and anti-ship missiles, artillery, and drones make up a large amount of the transferred weapons.

Yesterday, U.S. President Joe Biden revealed a new $700 million weapons package for Ukraine, including high mobility artillery rocket systems, which can accurately hit targets as far away as 80 km (50 miles).