The U.S. Navy seized 2,521 AK-47 rifles in Gulf of Eden. The U.S. Navy guided missile destroyer, USS Jason Dunhan intercepted and seized the illicit weapon shipment on August 28.
The weapons found aboard a stateless skiff in international waters in the Gulf of Eden. The origin and intended destination of the skiff have not yet been determined.
According to Navy Vice Adm. Scott Stearney, commander of U.S. Naval Forces Central Command, U.S. 5th Fleet, and the Combined Maritime Forces, the forces as part of countering weapon trafficking, will actively be involved in searching for illegal weapons shipments of all kinds.
This seizure comes after four weapons seizures in 2015 and 2016 accomplished by Combined Maritime Forces and U.S. 5th Fleet assets.
- The first seizure was conducted by the Royal Australian Navy’s HMAS Melbourne on September27, 2015. The forces intercepted a dhow containing 75 anti-tank guided munitions, four tripods with associated equipment, four launch tubes, two launcher assembly units and three missile guidance sets.
- The second seizure was by the Royal Australian Navy’s HMAS Darwin. The Navy forces intercepted a dhow on February 27, 2016, containing about 2,000 AK-47 rifles, 81 rocket-propelled grenade launchers, 49 PKM general purpose machine guns, 39 spare PKM barrels and 20 60 mm mortar tubes.
- The third seizure was done by French navy destroyer FS Provence on March 20, 2016. About 2,000 AK-47 rifles, 64 Dragunov sniper rifles, nine anti-tank missiles and six PK machine guns with bipods were seized.
- The fourth seizure was by U.S. Navy coastal patrol ship USS Sirocco on March 28, 2016. It intercepted a dhow stacked with 1,500 AK-47 rifles, 200 RPG launchers and 21 .50-caliber machine guns.
