Port Sudan, April 30( Darfur 24)
The Emirates News Agency announced that UAE security services had thwarted an attempt to smuggle a quantity of military equipment to the Sudanese Armed Forces after arresting members of a cell involved in mediation, brokerage, and the illegal trade of military equipment.
The UAE Attorney General explained that the cell includes the former director of the Sudanese Intelligence Service, Salah Gosh, a former officer in the service, a former advisor to the Minister of Finance, a politician close to Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and Yasser al-Atta, and a number of Sudanese businessmen.
In response, Khaled Al-Aiser posted on the X platform that “the Abu Dhabi government is attempting to evade its responsibility by accusing the Sudanese government of being behind a weapons shipment allegedly belonging to the Sudanese Armed Forces, in an attempt to cover up its role in supporting the crimes committed by the Rapid Support Forces against the Sudanese people.”
He added that “the Sudanese government pays no attention to these fabricated allegations and is certain that the Abu Dhabi government is using its official and private media outlets to obstruct the complaint filed by Sudan with the International Court of Justice.”
He emphasized that Port Sudan’s complaint against Abu Dhabi is based on compelling evidence, including the movement of Abu Dhabi-owned aircraft transporting weapons, equipment, and strategic drones in support of the Rapid Support Forces.
He continued, “Sudan’s cause is just, and it is continuing its efforts to protect the rights of its people. Attempts at deception will not obscure the truth about the crimes for which the Abu Dhabi government bears responsibility.”
The UAE Attorney General, Hamad Saif Al Shamsi, explained that the defendants accused of attempting to smuggle the arms shipment to the Sudanese army were arrested during an inspection of a quantity of ammunition aboard a private plane carrying approximately 5 million pieces of 62×54.7 caliber ammunition, of the Geranov type, from military equipment, at one of the country’s airports. Part of the proceeds from the financial transaction were also seized from two of the defendants in their private rooms at a hotel.
He indicated that the value of the transaction exceeded millions of dollars, transferred from the Sudanese army to the importing company in the UAE using the “hawala dar” method through a company owned by a member of the cell, in coordination with Colonel Osman Al-Zubair, the financial operations officer of the Sudanese Armed Forces. This was done after forging contracts and commercial invoices that falsely indicated that the funds were for a sugar import deal.
He explained that the transaction was carried out by Ahmed Rabie Ahmed Al-Sayed, a politician close to the Commander-in-Chief of the Sudanese Army, and his assistant, Yasser Al-Atta, who was responsible for issuing approvals and end-user certificates.
He stated that investigations confirmed Salah Gosh’s involvement in managing the illegal military equipment trade inside the UAE, in cooperation with other cell members. They obtained $2.6 million as a price difference (profit margin) over the actual value of the two deals, which was divided between them and a number of their associates.
The defendant Salah Gosh’s share of the profit margin was seized along with the defendant Khaled Youssef Mukhtar Youssef, a former officer in the Sudanese Intelligence Service and former director of Salah Gosh’s office.
The Emirati investigations revealed the existence of several companies owned by a Sudanese businessman of Ukrainian nationality, including a company operating within the country, which participated in supplying the Sudanese army with its needs for weapons, ammunition, bombs, and drones, in cooperation with cell members and the financial officer of the Sudanese Armed Forces.