Italy Seizes 8,000 Kalashnikovs Headed to U.S.

[gunsmith]

http://www.jihadwatch.org
ROME (Reuters) - Italian customs has seized more than 8,000 Kalashnikovs and other weapons on a ship headed to the United States, officials said Tuesday.
The arms, worth about six million euros, were discovered aboard a ship arriving from Romania that pulled into the southern Italian port of Gioia Tauro on its way to the United States, Italy's customs said in a statement.

According to travel documents, the arms are the property of a large U.S. company headquartered in the U.S. state of Georgia.

"We know that the destination was North America, but we don't effectively know if that's where the arms were going," a customs official told RAI state television.

The arms were found inside three different containers during a routine customs check earlier this week. They were confiscated due to discrepancies in the customs forms but the news was only made public Tuesday.

The customs office said the weapons had been described as "common guns" instead of assault rifles and longer-range combat arms in the travel documentation.

Romania's National Agency for Export Control (ANCEX) said in a statement: "There have been transfers of weapons of small caliber and of light weapons from Romania to the United States.

"Their export was done according to Romanian law, on the basis of individual export authorizations and on confirmation from the American authorities prior to the transfer," the ANCEX statement said.

 

[JohnBT]

"We know that the destination was North America, but we don't effectively know if that's where the arms were going,"

That's clear as mud.

JT

 

[rich2u]

Paper snafu+ over eager Italian inspectors= OH MY GOD ITS THE END OF THE FRICKIN WORLD Nice looking weapon he's holding there to. I'll take one thank you

 

[Sergeant Bob]

According to travel documents, the arms are the property of a large U.S. company headquartered in the U.S. state of Georgia.

Doesn't sound like smuggling if they put their shipping address on it.

The customs office said the weapons had been described as "common guns" instead of assault rifles and longer-range combat arms in the travel documentation.

Well, if they are semi-auto, then they are common guns! I think if they were select fire, they would have been called "machine guns" in the article.
And, I certainly wouldn't classify "AK's" as "longer range combat arms".
In addition, if they were trying to "smuggle" illegal weapons, I really doubt they'd write "GUNS" all over the shipment!

Romania's National Agency for Export Control (ANCEX) said in a statement: "There have been transfers of weapons of small caliber and of light weapons from Romania to the United States.

"Their export was done according to Romanian law, on the basis of individual export authorizations and on confirmation from the American authorities prior to the transfer," the ANCEX statement said.

Sounds like a legal transfer to me. It appears the Italian Customs Nazis are trying to enforce their gun control on the US.

I expect the price of Romak's will be going up soon.

 

[Carlos]

Sad, but probably true.

Who would the Georgia company be, I wonder?

 

[pbhome71]

Isn't this what they look like before they got torched and sell as part-kits?

-Pat

 

[Zundfolge]

Hey Italy! Looks to me like this is none of your effing business!

Now give the guns back to their rightful owner and let them be on their way.



And why the hell is this on Jihad Watch's web site?

If Boeing is shipping airplanes do they also report that?
If Gillette is shipping razor blades do they also report that?

 

[sturmruger]

8,000 Aks worth 6,000,000 euros is like $800 a piece. Is it just me or does that sounds kind of high.

 

[TheOtherOne]

Who would the Georgia company be, I wonder?

Just a total guess, but I would say Century International Arms. I don't think they are actually in Georgia, but all my Romanian SAR's have CAI Georgia, VT. stamped on them. Maybe the customs guy just didn't read the VT part. Maybe they were all "common guns" like WASR-10's.

 

[Fly320s]

Let's see...

8,000 AK's for 6,000,000 EUR = 750 EUR each.

Today's exchange rate says 1 EUR = US$1.19

So, 750 * 1.19 = US$892.50.

I'd say that is just a wee bit high.

 

[7.62FullMetalJacket]

They were probably a shipment of arms bought by the US headed for Iraq to arm the Iraqi security forces. Wouldn't that be a hoot?

 

[gunsmith]

I was wondering

Why this was on jihadwatch myself.

If the Italians need some one to take them off their hands,I guess I would be willing.

 

[ny32182]

Man, they make the beginning of the article sound like OBL is sending them over to arm a group of insurgents to overthrow the US government or something.

More hype over nothing, like usual.

 

[4v50 Gary]

I may not be the "rightful" owner or the holder of "title" to those guns, but I'll pay them a one dollar for ever pound of that "scrap" that they have. Fancy me being in the scrap metal & salvage bizness.

 

[Mr. Mysterious]

The Italians get ticked whenever someone buys a gun not from them.

Next thing you know they'll be threatening to make the US close all bases there.

 

[Mr. Mysterious]

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,117766,00.html

Illegal Arms Shipment Seized En Route to U.S.
Wednesday, April 21, 2004

A Turkish ship headed for New York — and stuffed with thousands of AK-47s (search) and other Kalashnikov assault rifles — was seized en route in Italy, authorities said Tuesday.


The ship's deadly hoard of more than 7,500 terrorist-grade rifles and machine guns worth more than $6 million was discovered illegally hidden under piles of properly labeled arms in several massive cargo containers, Italian officials said.

The ship MS Adnan Bayraktar, which bears a Turkish flag, had come from the Romanian port of Constanta (search) and was on its way to a stopover in New York when the bust was made, the authorities said.

Documents showed the cargo containers were ultimately headed to a large U.S. company based in Georgia.

Officials refused to identify the business, citing security concerns and the ongoing investigation.

"We know that the [ship's] destination was North America, but we don't effectively know if that's where the [suspect] arms were going," one customs official told Italian state television.

The ship's cache of combat-style weapons was uncovered several days ago during a routine customs inspection at the Calabrian port of Gioia Tauro in southern Italy, officials said. They said they didn't reveal the bust at the time because of the continuing probe.

The weapons were confiscated by the Italian authorities because of problems with the ship's customs forms. For example, the arms had been described on some of the forms as "common guns" instead of assault-style.

The smuggled firearms included the lightweight combat Kalashnikov rifles, AK-47 assault rifles and SKA and Mauser (search) rifles, authorities said.

The weapons' bayonets were still affixed to them, as were cartridges that can hold up to 30 rounds, they said.

The AK-47s had been tampered with so they couldn't be rapidly fired, but the modification was one that could easily have been reversed, authorities said.

The assault weapons are a favorite with terrorists: Usama bin Laden sported one in the now-infamous footage of him taken after 9/11.

AK-47s also have been the weapon of choice for some infamous military-minded wackos, such as the teens who shot up Columbine HS in Littleton, Colo., in 1999.

The United States has banned such military-style semiautomatic weapons since 1994. The law preventing them from being manufactured, imported or sold here expires in September.

 

[idd]

AK-47s also have been the weapon of choice for some infamous military-minded wackos, such as the teens who shot up Columbine HS in Littleton, Colo., in 1999.

That's the first I've heard this ludicrous claim. If my aging memory serves, Harris and Klebold never used an AK-47 or civilian clone during their rampage.

 

[TheOtherOne]

AK-47s also have been the weapon of choice for some infamous military-minded wackos, such as the teens who shot up Columbine HS in Littleton, Colo., in 1999.

The United States has banned such military-style semiautomatic weapons since 1994. The law preventing them from being manufactured, imported or sold here expires in September.

Agenda? Nah. Never from a legitimate news source.

 

[Carlos]

Ya, New York Post. Pathetic reporting and openly lying.

Just a total guess, but I would say Century International Arms. I don't think they are actually in Georgia, but all my Romanian SAR's have CAI Georgia, VT.

Century is based in Florida.

 

[7.62FullMetalJacket]

The weapons' bayonets were still affixed to them, as were cartridges that can hold up to 30 rounds, they said.

MIRVs multiple warheads

The AK-47s had been tampered with so they couldn't be rapidly fired, but the modification was one that could easily have been reversed, authorities said.

Talk about checking your sources and facts

 

[anapex]

deadly hoard of more than 7,500 terrorist-grade rifles

So is terrorist grade comparable to what? AA or AAA?

 

[Logan5]

Somewhat off topic, but the New York Post must have balls of steel to blatantly plagarize the Reuters story like that. They just inserted a few wacky sentances of their own. I'd think the Times would want to call them on it, given how the post went after them during the last making stuff up scandal.
It's terrorist-grade, combat-style plagarism...

 

[TheOtherOne]

Century is based in Florida.

They must have something in Georgia, VT. though because I have four guns with this stamped on it. Two SAR-1's a CZ52, and a Mosin Nagant 91/30.

 

[LAR-15]

What is going to happen to the guns?

 

[Josh]

Did I miss something?

Will these be illegal to import to the US, after the AWB sunset?

It sounds like they're the same AK my pals have. (pre-ban of course)

And Mausers? Like 60 year old CRFL Mausers? Please...

Run-on sentence alert:


So if after the Sept. Sunset, they're legal to import to the US, being Semi-auto or "Common", and legal for the Romanian seller to sell, (like all the other RomAks), and the shipping manifest is technically correct with a delivery date post sunset, (whether some Italian "Authorities" believe they are easily modified to fire full auto or not, as is, they're currently semi-auto and therefore not machineguns, are the Italians who seized this shipment not PIRATES if they try to keep this legal shipment?

I can see the argument if there truly were full auto machineguns, that there is no way to legally import them to the US until the GHWBush '89 ban is lifted.

The AK-47s had been tampered with so they couldn't be rapidly fired, but the modification was one that could easily have been reversed, authorities said.

Might that be Italian gungrabber-ese for semi-auto?


Or MAYBE...

Pietro and Giuseppe of the Italian Coasta Guarda decide to grab themselves a container full of legal rifles and a hat full of glory by planting a full auto or two under a crate during a "Routine Inspection"

I'm not saying any AMERICAN gun police would stoop so low as to pull such a low-down underhanded scheme but those Italian Coasties are a shifty lot. I've seen them and their crummy little Beretta's first hand. They definately have caliber envy.


Whooo...
I think maybe I need a nap.

Josh