International operation disrupts supply of firearms to terrorists

A seven-day operation has seen law enforcement officers intercept illicit firearms, ammunition and explosives, and disrupt the trafficking networks used to supply terrorists across West Africa and the Sahel.

Coordinated jointly by INTERPOL and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, Operation KAFO II frontline officers targeted smuggling hotspots at airports, seaports, and land borders in Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Mali and Niger.

According to INTERPOL, officers checked more than 12,000 individuals, vehicles, containers and goods against international criminal databases, and carried out physical searches, to determine if suspects were using stolen travel documents, were known to police in any of INTERPOL’s 194 member countries, or were travelling in a stolen vehicle.

As well as arresting a number of suspected terrorists, officers seized firearms and a range of illicit goods: 50 firearms; 40,593 sticks of dynamite; 28 detonator cords; 6,162 rounds of ammunition; 1,473 kilos of drugs (cannabis and khat); 2,263 boxes of contraband drugs; and 60,000 litres of contraband fuel.

Given that firearms trafficking is often associated with other forms of contraband, Operation KAFO II also focused on disrupting the flow of other types of illicit goods used to finance criminal and terrorist activities in the region. New trends observed in this second edition of the KAFO operation included the seizure of contraband gasoline in large quantities in Niger and Mali. It is believed the fuel came from Nigeria, and was trafficked to both finance and supply Al-Qaeda and its affiliates.

Additionally, more than 40,000 sticks of dynamite and detonator cords were seized across several places, all intended for illegal gold mining which constitutes a new source of financing, and even a recruiting ground, for armed terrorist groups in the Sahel.

Jürgen Stock, INTERPOL’s Secretary General, said: “Trafficking in firearms is a lucrative business which, in turn, fuels and funds other types of serious crimes. Operation KAFO II shows the need to connect the dots between crime cases involving firearms and terrorists across different countries.”