Security & Strategic Review -June 2007 (ISSN 1741-4202)

ARGENTINA | Arms smuggling scandal. In late May and Argentine court initiated a formal investigation into a suspect operation to export 6.7 tonnes of automatic rifles, ostensibly as scrap metal, to a US-based firm, JLD Enterprises, set up by an Argentine national. The shipment had been intercepted in February by customs officials alerted by the low value declared (US$2,600). Upon inspecting the cargo, many rifles were found to have had their serial numbers filed off, while others had numbers which did not match those on the manifest. The rifles were found to still be serviceable.