Editing Arms trafficking (section)

== Asia ==
Arms trafficking in Asia is a multifaceted issue, deeply intertwined with regional conflicts, organized crime, and governance challenges. In Southeast Asia, porous borders and post-conflict zones facilitate the smuggling of firearms, often linked to non-state actors, including separatists, criminal syndicates, and terrorist groups. The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has recognized the gravity of this problem and has initiated cooperative measures, such as the ASEAN Plan of Action in Combating Transnational Crime, to enhance information exchange and law enforcement capacity building.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-07-31 |title=Wildlife and weapons trafficking converge in Southeast Asia {{!}} East Asia Forum |url=https://eastasiaforum.org/2024/07/31/wildlife-and-weapons-trafficking-converge-in-southeast-asia/?utm_ |access-date=2025-04-23 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Asia-Pacific Countries to Tackle Specter of Illicit Small Arms in Preparation for Global Meeting {{!}} Meetings Coverage and Press Releases |url=https://press.un.org/en/2024/dc3867.doc.htm?utm_ |access-date=2025-04-23 |website=press.un.org}}</ref>

In South Asia, countries like India face significant challenges due to the influx of illegal small arms, which exacerbate internal security issues and insurgencies. The United Nations has facilitated regional workshops to address gun violence and illicit small arms trafficking, emphasizing the need for a gender perspective in policy formulation.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Twenty4 |title=Workshop for South Asia on Gun Violence and Illicit Small Arms Trafficking from a Gender Perspective |url=https://www.unrcpd.org/event/workshop-for-south-asia-on-gun-violence-and-illicit-small-arms-trafficking-from-a-gender-perspective/?utm_ |access-date=2025-04-23 |website=Office for Disarmament Affairs |language=en-US}}</ref>

Western Asia, particularly the Middle East, has become a hotspot for arms trafficking, with weapons often recycled from past conflicts. This proliferation fuels ongoing instability and empowers organized crime groups, leading to a cycle of violence and insecurity.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Middle East as the world’s illicit arms depot |url=https://globalinitiative.net/analysis/middle-east-illicit-arms-trafficking-ocindex/?utm_ |access-date=2025-04-23 |website=Global Initiative |language=en}}</ref> Efforts to combat arms trafficking in Asia are further complicated by the involvement of transnational organized crime groups, which operate across borders and engage in various illicit activities, including arms smuggling. International initiatives, like the United Nations Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime and its protocols, aim to provide a framework for cooperation and legal measures to address these challenges.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2022 |title=Addressing the linkages between illicit arms, organized crime and armed conflict |url=https://www.unodc.org/documents/firearms-protocol/2022/UNIDIR-UNODC_Adressing_the_linkages_between_illict_arms_organized_crime_and_armed_conflict.pdf?utm_}}</ref>

=== Iran ===
[[Iran]]'s arms trafficking operations are primarily orchestrated by the [[Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps|Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps']] (IRGC) [[Quds Force]], notably through its specialized units, [[Unit 190]] and [[Unit 700]]. These units are responsible for clandestine weapons transfers to Iranian-aligned groups across the [[Middle East]], including [[Hezbollah]] in [[Lebanon]], [[Hamas]] in [[Gaza Strip|Gaza]], the [[Houthis]] in [[Yemen]], and various militias in [[Syria]] and [[Iraq]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Research |first=Alma |date=2025-02-24 |title=Iran's Military Aid to Hezbollah's Rehabilitation - Involved Units |url=https://israel-alma.org/irans-military-aid-to-hezbollahs-rehabilitation-involved-units/ |access-date=2025-04-23 |website=Alma Research and Education Center |language=en-US}}</ref><ref name=":3">{{Cite web |title=Unit 190-Weapons Transfer Unit |url=https://www.vsquds.info/%D8%A7%D9%86%D8%AA%D9%82%D8%A7%D9%84-%D8%AA%D8%B3%D9%84%DB%8C%D8%AD%D8%A7%D8%AA/weapons-transfer/unit-190-weapons-transfer-unit |access-date=2025-04-23 |website=www.vsquds.info |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Iran Probes for New Maritime Routes Into Lebanon |url=https://maritime-executive.com/editorials/iran-probes-for-new-maritime-routes-into-lebanon |access-date=2025-04-23 |website=The Maritime Executive |language=en}}</ref>

Unit 190 specializes in smuggling weapons by land, sea, and air, employing covert methods such as disguising arms shipments as civilian goods and using front companies to obscure the true nature of their operations. Unit 700, led by [[Ali Naji Gal Farsat]], focuses on logistics and maritime smuggling routes, facilitating arms deliveries to Hezbollah via the Port of [[Beirut]]. These operations have adapted to regional dynamics, shifting from overland routes through Syria to maritime channels to evade detection.<ref name=":3" />

In Yemen, Iran's support has significantly enhanced the military capabilities of the Houthi rebels, enabling them to conduct attacks on international shipping and regional adversaries. Despite international sanctions and efforts to curb these activities, Iran continues to provide advanced weaponry and training to the Houthis, contributing to ongoing instability in the region.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Iran’s Support of the Houthis: What to Know {{!}} Council on Foreign Relations |url=https://www.cfr.org/in-brief/irans-support-houthis-what-know?utm_ |access-date=2025-04-23 |website=www.cfr.org |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-03-17 |title=What to know about Yemen's Houthi rebels as the US steps up attacks on Iran-backed group |url=https://apnews.com/article/yemen-houthi-rebels-us-strikes-iran-447f4abb39cc12c7f2f5596f0e33407b |access-date=2025-04-23 |website=AP News |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Iran-Supported Groups in the Middle East and U.S. Policy |url=https://www.congress.gov/crs-product/IF12587?utm_= |access-date=2025-04-23 |website=www.congress.gov}}</ref>

Iran has also been implicated in attempts to smuggle weapons into the West Bank, aiming to arm Palestinian factions and foment unrest against Israel. Israeli security forces have intercepted multiple shipments of Iranian-made weapons, including advanced arms intended for terror operatives in the region.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Berman |first=Zachary |date=2024-04-10 |title=Iran Floods West Bank With Weapons |url=https://www.fdd.org/analysis/2024/04/10/iran-floods-west-bank-with-weapons/ |access-date=2025-04-23 |website=FDD |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Bermudez |first=Krystal |date=2024-11-27 |title=Israel Seizes Deadly Iranian Weapons Destined for West Bank Terrorists |url=https://www.fdd.org/analysis/2024/11/27/israel-seizes-deadly-iranian-weapons-destined-for-west-bank-terrorists/ |access-date=2025-04-23 |website=FDD |language=en}}</ref>

===United States===
{{Further information|Blockade runners of the American Civil War}}
During the [[American Civil War]] (1861–1865), the [[Confederate States of America|Confederacy]] lacked the financial and manufacturing capacity to wage war against the industrial and prosperous [[Union (American Civil War)|North]]. The [[Union Navy]] was enforcing [[Union blockade|the blockade]] along 3,500 miles of coast in the Southeast and Gulf of Mexico to prevent the smuggling of any material from or into the South. In order to increase its arsenal, the Confederacy looked to Britain as a major source of arms. British merchants and bankers funded the purchase of arms and construction of ships being outfitted as [[blockade runner]]s which later carried war supplies bound for Southern ports. The chief figures for these acts were Confederate [[foreign agent]]s [[James Dunwoody Bulloch]] and [[Charles K. Prioleau]] and Fraser, Trenholm and Co. based in [[Liverpool]], England<ref>{{cite web|url=https://ldhi.library.cofc.edu/exhibits/show/liverpools-abercromby-square/abercromby-southern-club/embassy-confederacy|title=Liverpool's Abercromby Square and the Confederacy During the U.S. Civil War|publisher=Lowcountry Digital History Initiative|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230410173112/https://ldhi.library.cofc.edu/exhibits/show/liverpools-abercromby-square/abercromby-southern-club/embassy-confederacy|archive-date= April 10, 2023}}</ref> and merchants in [[Glasgow]], Scotland.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.glasgowlive.co.uk/news/history/running-blockade-how-clyde-shipyards-18722461|title=Running the blockade – How Clyde shipyards supported Confederacy and slavery in the American Civil War|author=Christina O'Neill|date=24 September 2020|publisher=Glasgow Live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201029023514/https://www.glasgowlive.co.uk/news/history/running-blockade-how-clyde-shipyards-18722461|archive-date= October 29, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://glasgowmuseumsslavery.co.uk/2018/08/14/glasgows-role-in-the-american-civil-war/#:~:text=The%20City%20of%20Glasgow%20profited,squeeze%20the%20rebels%20into%20submission.|title=Legacies of Slavery in Glasgow Museums and Collections|date=August 14, 2018|website=www.glasgowmuseumsslavery.co.uk|archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20230518140517/https://glasgowmuseumsslavery.co.uk/2018/08/14/glasgows-role-in-the-american-civil-war/#:~:text=The%20City%20of%20Glasgow%20profited,squeeze%20the%20rebels%20into%20submission.|archive-date=May 18, 2023|access-date=April 8, 2023|url-status=live}}</ref> The smuggling of arms into the South by blockade runners carrying British supplies were easily facilitated using ports in the [[Canada and the American Civil War|British colonies of Canada]] and the [[Bahamas and the American Civil War|Bahamas]], where the Union Navy could not enter.<ref name="BGWADA">{{cite web|url=http://www.cfhi.net/WilmingtonsWartimeCanadianConnection.php|title=Wilmington to Canada: Blockade Runners & Secret Agents|publisher=Cape Fear Historical Institute|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230408011242/http://www.cfhi.net/WilmingtonsWartimeCanadianConnection.php|archive-date= April 8, 2023}}</ref> A British publication in 1862 summed up the country's involvement in blockade running:

<blockquote>
Score after score of the finest, swiftest British steamers and ships, loaded with British material of war of every description, cannon, rifles by the hundreds of thousand, powder by the thousand of tons, shot, shell, cartridges, swords, etc, with cargo after cargo of clothes, boots, shoes, blankets, medicines and supplies of every kind, all paid for by British money, at the sole risk of British adventurers, well insured by [[Lloyds Bank|Lloyds]] and under the protection of the British flag, have been sent across the ocean to the insurgents by British agency.<ref name="Peter Andreas 159">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=N39oAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA159|title=Smuggler Nation: How Illicit Trade Made America|author=[[Peter Andreas]]|page=159|publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]|date=January 16, 2013|isbn=9-7801-9930-1607}}</ref>
</blockquote>

It was estimated the Confederates received thousands of tons of gunpowder, half a million rifles, and several hundred cannons from British blockade runners.<ref>{{cite book|title=The Routledge Handbook of Smuggling|last1=Gallien|first1=Max|last2=Weigand|first2=Florian|page=321|date=December 21, 2021|publisher=[[Taylor & Francis]]|isbn=9-7810-0050-8772}}</ref> As a result, due to blockade running operating from Britain, the war was escalated by two years in which 400,000 additional soldiers and civilians on both sides were killed.<ref name="DWAD">{{cite web|url=https://www.globalsecurity.org/military/ops/alabama-claims.htm|title=Alabama Claims, 1862-1872|website=[[GlobalSecurity.org]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230402225553/https://www.globalsecurity.org/military/ops/alabama-claims.htm|archive-date= April 2, 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/archaeology/historians-reveal-secrets-of-uk-gunrunning-which-lengthened-the-american-civil-war-by-two-years-9557937.html|title=Historians reveal secrets of UK gun-running which lengthened the American civil war by two years|author=David Keys|date=24 June 2014|work=[[The Independent]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230408152902/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/archaeology/historians-reveal-secrets-of-uk-gunrunning-which-lengthened-the-american-civil-war-by-two-years-9557937.html|archive-date= April 8, 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=The Confederate Blockade Runners|url=https://www.usni.org/magazines/proceedings/1933/april/confederate-blockade-runners|author=Paul Hendren|date=April 1933|publisher=[[United States Naval Institute]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230326231456/https://www.usni.org/magazines/proceedings/1933/april/confederate-blockade-runners|archive-date= March 26, 2023}}</ref><ref name="BGWADA"/> Under U.S. law and Article 10 of the 1842 U.S.–UK [[extradition]] treaty ([[Webster-Ashburton Treaty]]) at the time, President [[Abraham Lincoln]] had the power to prosecute gunrunners (Americans and foreigners alike) and request Britain to hand over its arms traffickers engaged in "[[Piracy]]", but the British Ambassador to the U.S., [[Richard Lyons, 1st Viscount Lyons|Lord Lyons]], threatened retaliation if British smugglers were subject to criminal prosecution. As a result, Lincoln was forced to release the captured British blockade runners instead of prosecuting them to avoid a diplomatic fallout, a move that led to the released crew joining another blockade-running expedition.<ref name="Peter Andreas 159"/>

[[Ulysses S. Grant III]], President of the [[American Civil War Centennial]] in 1961, remarked for example:

<blockquote>
[B]etween October 26, 1864 and January 1865, it was still possible for 8,632,000 lbs of meat, 1,507,000 lbs of lead, 1,933,000 lbs of saltpeter, 546,000 pairs of shoes, 316,000 blankets, half a million pounds of coffee, 69,000 rifles, and 43 cannon to run the blockade [[Wilmington, North Carolina in the American Civil War|into the port of Wilmington]] alone, while cotton sufficient to pay for these purchases was exported[. I]t is evident that the blockade runners made an important contribution to the Confederate effort to carry on.<ref name="BGWADA"/>
</blockquote>

===Mexico===
{{Further information|Smuggling of firearms into Mexico}}
During the [[Mexican Revolution]], gunrunning into [[Mexico]] reached rampant levels with the majority of the arms being smuggled from the United States.<ref name="Knight1">{{cite book |last1=Knight |first1=Alan |title=The Mexican Revolution: Porfirians, Liberals, and Peasants  |date=1986 |publisher=University of Nebraska Press |location=Lincoln |isbn=0-8032-7770-9}}</ref>{{rp|126}} As Mexico manufactured no weapons of its own, acquiring arms and ammunition were one of the main concerns of the various rebels, intent on armed revolution.<ref name="Knight1" />{{rp|198–199}} Under American law at the time, arms smugglers into Mexico could be prosecuted only if one was caught ''in flagrante delicto'' crossing the border as merely buying arms with the intention of gunrunning into Mexico was not a criminal offense.<ref name="Knight1" />{{rp|186}} Given the length and often rugged terrain of the American-Mexican border, the undermanned American border service simply could not stop the massive gunrunning into Mexico.<ref name="Knight1" />{{rp|186}}

In February 1913-February 1914, President [[Woodrow Wilson]] imposed an arms embargo on both sides of the Mexican civil war, and not until February 1914 was the embargo lifted on arms sales to the Constitutionalist rebels.<ref name="Knight2">{{cite book |last1=Knight |first1=Alan |title=The Mexican Revolution: Counter-revolution and reconstruction |date=1990 |publisher=University of Nebraska Press |location=Lincoln |isbn=0-8032-7770-9}}</ref>{{rp|31}} Despite the arms embargo, there was much gunrunning into Mexico, as one American official complained in 1913: "our border towns are practically their commissary and quartermaster depots".<ref name="Knight2" />{{rp|31}} Guns were smuggled into Mexico via barrels, coffins, and false bottoms of automobiles.<ref name="Knight2" />{{rp|31}} General Huerta avoided the American arms embargo by buying weapons from Germany.<ref name="Knight2" />{{rp|154}}

===Philippines===
{{Further information|Illegal firearm trade in the Philippines|Paltik}}

Aside from internal theft and cross-border smuggling, criminals and insurgents in the Philippines source weapons from unlicensed workshops making firearms ranging from imitations of the [[1911 pistol]] to single-shot [[.50 BMG]] long guns.<ref> [https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/07/world/asia/philippines-illegal-guns.html A Family Craft With a Deadly Toll: Illegal Gun Making] Jason Gutierrez. [[The New York Times]]. April 7, 2019.</ref><ref> [https://www.philstar.com/news-commentary/2017/07/09/1717943/shooting-holes-myth-homemade-barrett-sniper-rifle Shooting holes in the myth of the homemade 'Barrett' sniper rifle] John Unson. [[The Philippine Star]]. July 9, 2017.</ref>
=== Africa ===
{{See also|Arms trafficking in Ivory Coast}}

==== Liberia and Sierra Leone conflicts ====
The [[Sierra Leone Civil War|civil war in Sierra Leone]] lasted from 1991 to 2002, and left 75,000 people dead. Gunrunning played a significant role in this conflict. Weapons of all sorts were shipped to all sides in both [[Sierra Leone]], and [[Liberia]] from abroad. These included [[small arms]], such as, [[pistol]]s, [[assault rifle]]s, grenades, [[M18 Claymore mine|Claymores]], knives, machetes, etc. Larger weapons such as missiles, light machine guns, mortars, anti-tank missiles, tanks, and planes were also used. During this time a civil war was occurring in nearby Liberia. The [[Liberian Civil War (disambiguation)|Liberian Civil Wars]] took place from 1989 through 1997. The war was between the existing government and the [[National Patriotic Front of Liberia|National Patriotic Front]]. Leader of the National Patriotic Front of Liberia, [[Charles Taylor (Liberian politician)|Charles Taylor]], helped to create the [[Revolutionary United Front]] (RUF) in Sierra Leone. Taylor was the recipient of thousands of illegally trafficked arms from eastern Europe (mostly Ukraine). Taylor then sold some of these weapons to the RUF in exchange for diamonds.<ref name=":4">{{Cite journal |last1=Rothe |first1=Dawn L. |last2=Ross |first2=Jeffrey Ian |date=2012 |title=How States Facilitate Small Arms Trafficking in Africa: A Theoretical and Juristic Interpretation |url=https://digitalscholarship.tsu.edu/context/ajcjs/article/1084/viewcontent/How_20States_20Facilitate_20Small_20Arms_20Trafficking_20in_20Africa.pdf |journal=SSRN Working Paper Series |doi=10.2139/ssrn.2427762 |issn=1556-5068|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230123121748/https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2427762|archive-date=2023-01-23|url-status=live }}</ref> President of Burkina Faso, [[Blaise Compaoré|Blaise Compaore]], "directly facilitated Liberia's arms-for-diamonds trade" with Liberia and Sierra Leone.<ref name=":4" /> Compaore would give guns to Taylor, who would then sell them to the RUF in exchange for diamonds. These [[blood diamond]]s would then be sold back to Compaore for more guns. The cyclical exchange allowed Compaore the ability to deny directly sending arms to Sierra Leone.[[Image:Gun pyre in Uhuru Gardens, Nairobi.jpg|thumb|right|250px|A tower of confiscated smuggled weapons about to be set ablaze in [[Nairobi]], [[Kenya]]]]

The Liberian government received arms through an elaborate front company in [[Guinea]]. The arms were intended to be shipped (legally) from [[Uganda]] to [[Slovakia]]. However, the arms were diverted to Guinea as a part of "an elaborate bait and switch".<ref name=":4" /> Additionally the British government "encouraged [[Sandline International]], a private security firm and non state entity, to supply arms and ammunitions to the loyal forces of the exiled government of President Kabbah."<ref>{{Citation |last=Schabas |first=William |title=Truth Commissions and Courts |date=2004 |pages=3–54 |editor-last=Schabas |editor-first=William |chapter=A Synergistic Relationship: The Sierra Leone Truth and Reconciliation Commission and the Special Court for Sierra Leone |publisher=Springer Netherlands |doi=10.1007/978-1-4020-3237-0_1 |isbn=978-1-4020-3223-3 |s2cid=143783314 |editor2-last=Darcy |editor2-first=Shane}}</ref> Sandline proceeded 35 tons of arms from Bulgaria, to Kabbah's forces.<ref name=":4" />

====The South Sudanese civil war====
Ever since the [[South Sudanese civil war]] began in December 2013, gunrunning into that nation has reached rampant levels.<ref name="Martell">{{Cite book |last=Martell |first=Peter |title=First Raise a Flag: How South Sudan Won the Longest War But Lost the Peace |date=2019 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-005270-6 |location=Oxford |page=235}}</ref> As [[South Sudan]] has hardly any electricity and no manufacturing, both sides were entirely dependent upon buying arms from abroad to fight their war. President [[Salva Kiir Mayardit]] used shadowy networks of arms dealers from China, Uganda, Israel, Egypt and Ukraine to arm his forces.<ref name="Martell" /> As oil companies paid rent for their concessions in South Sudan, the government was able to afford to buy arms on a lavish scale.<ref name="Martell" /> In June 2014, the government's National Security Service signed a deal worth $264 million US dollars with a Seychelles-based shell company to buy 30 tanks, 50,000 AK-47 assault rifles and 20 million bullets.<ref name="Martell" /> The owner of the shell company currently remains unknown. In July 2014, the Chinese arms manufacturer [[Norinco]] delivered a shipment to South Sudan of 95,000 assault rifles and 20 million rounds of ammunition, supplying enough bullets to kill every person in South Sudan twice over.<ref name="Martell" /> The American arms dealer and private military contractor, [[Erik Prince]], sold to the government for $43 million three Mi-24 attack helicopters and two L-39 jets together with the services of Hungarian mercenary pilots to operate the aircraft.<ref name="Martell" /> The majority of the arms supplied to South Sudan from Uganda originated from Romania, Bulgaria and Slovakia, all which are members of the European Union (EU), and were supposed to abide by an EU arms embargo placed on South Sudan in 2011.<ref name="Tut Pur">{{Cite news |last=Tut Pur |first=Nyagoah |date=8 May 2019 |title=South Sudan's Arms Embargo Flouted |publisher=Human Rights Watch |url=https://www.hrw.org/news/2019/05/08/south-sudans-arms-embargo-flouted |access-date=22 April 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230206070642/https://www.hrw.org/news/2019/05/08/south-sudans-arms-embargo-flouted|archive-date= February 6, 2023}}</ref>   

Less is known about the very secretive arms dealers supplying the rebel [[Sudan People's Liberation Movement-in-Opposition]] (SPLM-IO) led by [[Riek Machar]] other than that the majority of the gunrunners appeared to be European.<ref name="Martell" /> A rare exception was with the Franco-Polish arms dealer [[Pierre Dadak]] who was arrested on 14 July 2016 at his villa in [[Ibiza]] on charges of gunrunning into South Sudan.<ref name="Martell" /> At his villa, the Spanish [[National Police Corps]] allege that they found documents showing he was negotiating to sell Machar 40,000 AK-47 assault rifles, 30,000 PKM machine guns and 200,000 boxes of ammunition.<ref name="Martell" />

The United Nations Panel of Experts on South Sudan in a 2017 report declared: "Reports from independent sources indicate that the border areas between South Sudan and the Sudan and Uganda remain key entry points for arms, with some unsubstantiated reports of smaller numbers of weapons also crossing into South Sudan from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. There are also persistent reports and public accusations of shipments to forces affiliated with the leadership in Juba from further afield, specifically from Egypt".<ref name="Allimadi">{{Cite news |last=Allimadi |first=Milton |date=24 April 2017 |title=UN Panel Wants Arms Embargo on South Sudan |publisher=Black Star News |url=https://www.blackstarnews.com/global-politics/africa/un-panel-wants-arms-embargo-on-south-sudan-calls-president|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230125130005/https://www.blackstarnews.com/global-politics/africa/un-panel-wants-arms-embargo-on-south-sudan-calls-president|archive-date= January 25, 2023}}</ref> The same report stated that a Ukrainian Air Force IL-76 transport jet flew in two L-39 jets to Uganda on 27 January 2017 in the full knowledge the L-39 jets were intended to go on to South Sudan, thereby violating the arms embargo Ukraine had placed on arms sales to South Sudan.<ref name="Allimadi" /> In 2018, the United Nations Security Council imposed a worldwide arms embargo on South Sudan, but the embargo has been widely ignored where despite a ceasefire signed the same year, both sides have continued to import arms on a massive scale, suggesting that they are preparing for another bout of the civil war.<ref name="Tut Pur" />

=== Europe ===
{{See also|Arms trafficking in Russia}}
Since 1996, countries throughout Europe have taken notice of arms trafficking. Europe has been an overall large exporter of illicit weapons with the United Kingdom, Germany, and France in the national lead for the most exports. Imports to Europe from 2004 to 2013 have decreased by 25%, with the United Kingdom importing the most overall in Europe.<ref name=":12">Arsovska, Jana. "Introduction: Illicit Firearms Market in Europe and Beyond."''European Journal on Criminal Policy and Research'', vol. 20, no. 3, 2014, pp. 295-305''. ProQuest'', {{doi|10.1007/s10610-014-9254-6}}.</ref> The firearms that are imported and passed around are commonly [[small arms]] and lighter weapons ([[Small Arms and Light Weapons|SALW]]) compared to large machinery, such as [[tank]]s and [[aircraft]].<ref name=":03">{{Citation |last=Greene |first=Owen |title=Under the Counter and over the Border |date=2000 |pages=151–190 |chapter=Examining international responses to illicit arms trafficking |publisher=Springer Netherlands |doi=10.1007/978-94-015-9335-9_6 |isbn=978-90-481-5569-9|s2cid=142629830 }}</ref> The SALW bought in Europe tends to be secondhand weapons that are cheap and regularly available. Gun cultures, such as in Germany, where the "taken-for-granted cultural practice of carrying a handgun,"<ref name=":12" /> increases illicit SALW because guns are viewed as a way to enhance masculinity and status. In 2000, the [[Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe|Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE)]] started on regional solutions and security measures to address the firearms trafficking problem.<ref name=":03" />