January8, 2007:
In tiny Macedonia, the head of military intelligence was recently
arrested for participation in a gun running scheme. Eastern Europe's former
communist nations have been the major source of illegal weapons since the early
1990s. It's no secret. But now it's not so easy to get away with stealing and
selling weapons. The Macedonian official, and two military intelligence
officers, were arrested after police stopped a truck, loaded with 300 new
German MG-3 machine-guns. The truck, and the weapons, were headed for Bulgaria.
The false paperwork accompanying the weapons was traced back to the military
intelligence commander, who was trying to make some money on the side. The
truckload of machine-guns was worth over half a million dollars on the black
market. In the past, police would not have dared to interfere, and the guy who
set up the scheme would have been protected by other politicians. No more.
Increasingly, illegal weapons sales are leading to prosecutions, not profits.