Special to WorldTribune.com

ANKARA — Turkey has determined that U.S.-origin firearms were
smuggled to Yemen.

Officials said the Turkish Customs and Trade Ministry investigated a
shipment of 3,000 pistols to Yemen last month. They said the ministry
determined that the pistols marked a variant of firearms manufactured in the
United States.

“These were not Turkish-produced weapons,” an official said.

Officials said the government of Prime Minister Recep Erdogan approved Turkish help in the investigation of the arms smuggling to Yemen. The arrival of the firearms marked the second smuggling attempt from Turkey to Yemen in three months.

“We’re not sure who the end-user was meant to be,” the official said.
“It could have been terrorist groups. What is more likely is that these are
arms merchants.”

The latest shipment of pistols was packed in boxes meant for cakes and
cookies. Officials said Yemen had been alerted to illegal arms shipments
from Turkey’s port of Mersin.

The Yemeni seizures marked the enhancement of training of the customs
authorities in the Gulf Arab state. Britain and the United States have been
cooperating in the training and equipping of Yemeni ports, particularly that
in Aden, to intercept arms and explosives.

The Turkish investigation came amid plans to increase trade and
cooperation between Ankara and Sanaa. In 2012, bilateral trade reached
nearly $500 million, and Turkey has sought to sell arms and military
equipment to Sanaa.

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