7000 Turkish-made weapons seized in Yemen

A cargo containing more than 7000 Turkish-made weapons has been seized by the Yemeni authorities, officials revealed on Thursday. The load, concealed in a lorry, was discovered on Thursday morning at a security checkpoint in the southern province of al-Hadida. A statement posted on the Yemeni Ministry of the Interior website said the firearms were hidden inside the vehicle’s bodywork and hidden with a metal sheet soldered to the frame. The security official estimated that the cargo contained over 7000 handguns packed in cardboard boxes. An official report has been filed and the apprehended driver and passengers have been referred to the Hadida City Department of Criminal Investigations. Customs authorities at Yemen’s Port of Aden discovered in November a container carrying almost 3000 Turkish-made handguns being illegally smuggled on behalf of a Yemeni businessman. The incident sparked controversy regarding the role played by Turkey in Yemen. Turkish authorities were quick to deny any connection to the cargo, announcing an investigation to discover how the firearms came to be in Yemen.