Posted on 07/16/2004 12:07:41 PM PDT by ijcr
HUNDREDS of boats ply their trade along Iraq’s tiny southern coastline every day but there was something dramatically wrong with the three dhows boarded by British troops.
Crammed with nearly 1,000 sheep, their dark holds stank of death, writhing bodies piled upon rotting corpses.
What first appeared to be a case of rank animal abuse took an even more sinister turn when one of the crewmen was identified as a supporter of the radical sheik Moqtada al Sadr.
Lt Charlie Blake, a member of the Royal Yeomanry attached to the Queen’s Royal Lancers (QRL), soon discovered his men had cracked an unlikely sheep-for-arms deal that involved rustlers stealing and selling livestock to pay for guns and ammunition.
And it’s not just woolly contraband that’s spirited out of the country.
Every day thieves threaten to destabilise Iraq by illegally exporting oil as well as transporting foreign fighters into the country from neighbouring Iran.
With his prisoners sipping Coke and watching an Audrey Hepburn movie under armed guard, Lt Blake explained that sheep-smuggling is a lucrative pastime for Sadr loyalists who can sell Iraqi animals for the equivalent of £55 a head in Kuwait and then buy AK47s for £82 each.
The flocks are stolen from the lush northern reaches of the country and then shipped south where they are secretly transferred to foreign vessels out at sea.
Lt Blake said: “This case is a good example of what we are up against in Iraq.
“The local customs officials are happy to work alongside us but if we are not by their side then they are prone to intimidation.
“A smuggler can simply say that they know where the official lives and threaten to harm their family.
“Quite often their knees start to knock and they turn a blind eye while the suspect escapes.
“This is exactly what happened after we arrested the sheep smugglers, at least one suspect was able to escape.
“We are trying to instil confidence into the customs officers so that they can’t be swayed quite so easily.”
Farther north along the border with Iran gangsters focus instead on illegal human traffic. Every night an estimated 70-100 people are spirited across the narrow Shatt al Arab waterway from Iran to Iraq.
While many are genuine religious pilgrims or on their way to visit relatives it is feared a significant number are foreign fighters headed for trouble spots such as Fallujah and Najaf.
In a bid to deter people-smuggling the Cheshire Regiment’s mortar platoon regularly lights up the night sky with flares over the Shatt al Arab while patrols comb the river-banks.
Capt David Fisher (QRL), another member of the TA’s Royal Yeomanry, explained what happened the night his patrol busted a people-smuggling ring.
Capt Fisher was with the newly formed Iraqi Riverine Police Service when a group of men was spotted acting suspiciously by the river.
After the patrol had searched their boats and arrested five men they pushed inland where they were fired on by the smugglers’ accomplices, who escaped.
Capt Fisher said: “We had a hunch that more people would soon arrive so we hid in the vegetation and kept watch with our night sights.
“Our hunch paid off because some taxis pulled up in the darkness.
“The drivers were shocked to see us and immediately threw up their arms and admitted they were there to pick-up people from Iran to take them north.”
Tipped-off by Capt Fisher and his men, D Coy of the Royal Welch Fusiliers mounted a stake-out at the same spot the next night and arrested a further 57 illegal immigrants – virtually all male aged between 20 and 30.
While the smuggling of live cargo can be lucrative, it is dwarfed by the trade in black gold.
Every day an estimated one million litres of oil are stolen from Iraqi refineries, with much of the haul destined for sale abroad.
Drivers employed by the oil industry have discovered that their documents and passes can fetch a small fortune on the black market and so many sell them to thieves.
With the correct ID criminals can simply drive a tanker into an oil refinery and steal around 36,000 litres at a time.
They then rendezvous with converted fishing trawlers on the coast and the inky-black cargo is pumped straight into the vessel’s hold before it is shipped out into the Gulf and transferred onto a waiting tanker. The oil often ends up in Iran.
There is little doubt smuggling will continue to be a major problem for the newly independent Iraq.
A new eight per cent luxury goods tax levied at Umm Qasr raised more than £820,000 in its first month, cash that will be ploughed straight back into the reconstruction of the country.
But that figure is a mere drop in the ocean compared to the cash that could be raised.
Only time will tell if the Iraqis are able to capitalise on the British Army’s successes and turn the tide against the smugglers.
Foreign fighters?
nope...just another wedding party.
The mentality of the people in that country. Sell your soul and sell out your country for a mere $50.
I guess same-sex marriage is getting out of hand.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.