![Polish millionaire seized in SSudan arms bust, say Spanish police](https://photo-cdn.urdupoint.com/media/2016/07/_2/740x404/pic_1469288551.jpg)
Polish Millionaire Seized In SSudan Arms Bust, Say Spanish Police
Sumaira FH Published July 23, 2016 | 08:42 PM
![Polish millionaire seized in SSudan arms bust, say Spanish police](https://photo-cdn.urdupoint.com/media/2016/07/_2/740x404/pic_1469288551.jpg)
MADRID, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 23th july, 2016) - Spanish police said Saturday they had arrested a Polish millionaire suspected of masterminding a ring that smuggled assault rifles and heavy weapons into South Sudan. The gang sold more than 200,000 AK-47s, as well as missile launchers and tanks at a time when South Sudan spiralled into civil war, investigators said. Police said the man was detained on Tuesday along with eight individuals in a coordinated European operation, culminating a four-year inquiry. His identity and details about who purchased the weapons have been withheld. A resident on the island of Ibiza who hid behind tight security, the suspect had been posing as an economic adviser to the prime minister of the West African state of Guinea-Bissau and used a fake diplomatic passport, a police spokesman told AFP. His base in Ibiza was a luxury sea-view villa, with a plaque on the gates that described the site as being consular territory, which thus had diplomatic immunity, they said. He headed an international network of front firms with links in Belgium, France, Germany and Britain whose headquarters were based in tax havens.
The gang used the firms to procure weapons, notably in Eastern Europe, and a Polish company owned by the suspect acted as a go-between with the buyers, the spokesman said. The Pole, arrested with eight others, allegedly used the Gambian presidential plane for one of his trips. He is under suspicion of arms running, money-laundering, tax evasion and extorting millions of Dollars from Spanish businesses. The arrests -- part of a joint operation with EU law enforcement agency Europol -- coincided with raids in Germany and Switzerland, Spanish police said, adding they had searched several Ibiza residences and impounded a number of luxury cars. South Sudan became independent from Sudan in 2011, but in 2013 a power struggle broke out between President Salva Kiir and his former deputy, Riek Machar. The resulting civil war left tens of thousands of people dead. A peace agreement was reached in August 2015 but the country remains chronically unstable.
Related Topics
Recent Stories
![Cricket: England v West Indies 3rd Test scoreboard](https://photo-cdn.urdupoint.com/media/2024/07/_1/235x155/pic_1722019914.jpg)
Cricket: England v West Indies 3rd Test scoreboard
![Finance minister briefs Chinese officials on refor ..](https://photo-cdn.urdupoint.com/media/2024/07/_1/235x155/pic_1722019922.jpg)
Finance minister briefs Chinese officials on reform agenda, engagement with IMF
![Finland says Russian vessel violated its territori ..](https://photo-cdn.urdupoint.com/media/2024/07/_1/235x155/pic_1722019912.jpg)
Finland says Russian vessel violated its territorial waters
![Olympic opening ceremony under way on River Seine](https://photo-cdn.urdupoint.com/media/2024/07/_1/235x155/pic_1722019266.jpg)
Olympic opening ceremony under way on River Seine
![West Indies' treble strike rocks England in third ..](https://photo-cdn.urdupoint.com/media/2024/07/_1/235x155/pic_1722019264.jpg)
West Indies' treble strike rocks England in third Test
![Ukraine court orders detention of suspect in murde ..](https://photo-cdn.urdupoint.com/media/2024/07/_1/235x155/pic_1722019262.jpg)
Ukraine court orders detention of suspect in murder of nationalist ex-MP
![Long queues, ticketing problems ahead of Paris ope ..](https://photo-cdn.urdupoint.com/media/2024/07/_1/235x155/pic_1722019015.jpg)
Long queues, ticketing problems ahead of Paris opening ceremony
![Rana Sanaullah Khan joins Paris 2024 Olympics inau ..](https://photo-cdn.urdupoint.com/media/2024/07/_1/235x155/pic_1722019638.jpg)
Rana Sanaullah Khan joins Paris 2024 Olympics inauguration reception
![Glowing tributes mark 69th birthday of President Z ..](https://photo-cdn.urdupoint.com/media/2024/07/_1/235x155/pic_1722019637.jpg)
Glowing tributes mark 69th birthday of President Zardari at Governor's House
![Players unaware of spying scandal as Canada Olympi ..](https://photo-cdn.urdupoint.com/media/2024/07/_1/235x155/pic_1722019635.jpg)
Players unaware of spying scandal as Canada Olympic coach sent home: official
![Naqvi hails Pak women cricketers for going down fi ..](https://photo-cdn.urdupoint.com/media/2024/07/_1/235x155/pic_1722019013.jpg)
Naqvi hails Pak women cricketers for going down fighting against SL
!['Sabotage' on French rail network before Olympics: ..](https://photo-cdn.urdupoint.com/media/2024/07/_1/235x155/pic_1722019634.jpg)
'Sabotage' on French rail network before Olympics: What we know
More Stories From World
-
Biden talks Gaza ceasefire efforts with king of Jordan
4 hours ago -
Sinaloa Cartel co-founder pleads not guilty after stunning US capture
4 hours ago -
Panama says Venezuela blocked ex-presidents going to observe polls
4 hours ago -
Ethiopia mourns victims of landslide tragedy
4 hours ago -
Khan Yunis fighting displaces 180,000 Gazans in four days: UN
4 hours ago -
Trump slams rivals as he meets Netanyahu in Florida
4 hours ago
-
Obama & his wife, Michelle, officially endorse US VP Kamala Harris for president
4 hours ago -
Rain, cooling slow huge blaze in Canada's Jasper park
4 hours ago -
Airbus and Boeing supremacy secure despite turbulence
4 hours ago -
S.African police detain 95 Libyans at suspected military camp
5 hours ago -
'Slapping therapist' guilty over UK diabetic woman's death
5 hours ago -
Panama says Venezuela blocked flight of ex-presidents going to observe polls
5 hours ago