There is serious concern in Europe and overseas that some of the substantial weapons supplies intended for Ukraine by Western countries may wind up on the European black market. A growing number of countries see indications that the war in Ukraine may bring another boom in arms trafficking, and international authorities are also warning of this.

Criminal gangs in France could have laid their hands on weapons intended for Ukraine

A large amount of weapons from Ukraine could be circulating among criminal gangs in the French city of Marseille, said Dominique Rizet, legal specialist, on a programme aired by the French television channel BFM-TV. The issue came into the limelight after three people were killed in a recent shootout in front of a nightclub in the city. Police suspect that it was a showdown between rival drug-trafficking gangs. Ten days earlier, a woman who is not into the drug business was killed after getting caught in the crossfire of a shootout.

Just like the Yugoslav wars, the conflict in Ukraine can be an opportunity for mafia networks to give a boost to arms trafficking and the black market.

UK sounded alarm bells barely two months ago

British weapons expert Paul James is convinced that millions of weapons could circulate when the Ukraine war ends, with many ending up in the hands of criminal gangs. Mr James compared the appearance of weapons from Ukraine on the Western market to a time bomb waiting to explode, the BBC wrote.

„From experience, over the last 15 to 20 years, the guns from the Western Balkans have been the main source of firearms trafficked into Europe. They have been used in a lot of very high-profile crime and terrorist incidents, and we’re still trying to reduce the flow of firearms from there. I think the situation in Ukraine is going to be much worse than that,”

warned the weapons expert in the British public media.

Huge amount of weapons could end up on the black market, US investigative journalist says

In an interview with the Russian news channel RT, US investigative journalist and Pulitzer Prize winner Seymour Hersh also spoke about a substantial portion of weapons sent to Ukraine leaking into the black market.

Almost immediately after the conflict broke out „Poland, Romania, other countries on the border were being flooded with weapons we [the US and allies] were shipping for the war to Ukraine,”

the veteran journalist claimed, adding that shipments of some weapons could have been given to lower-ranking commanders and from them, arms often wind up on the black market. He also said that fears that they could be resold in the West emerged only months later. Wesley Satterwhite, a former US State Department adviser, had earlier called on the United States to establish effective control over weapons supplied to Ukraine to prevent them from entering the black market. Since then, the Biden administration has been trying to monitor shipments, albeit with little success, it appears.

The Finnish National Bureau of Investigation thinks there is a risk that Ukrainian weapons may end up in Europe

AsV 4NA has already reported in several articles, it is almost inevitable that although the Western left-wing and liberal media has been trying to downplay the problem, an increasing number of countries are reporting about the growing threat that a significant part of the Western weapons originally intended for Ukraine will end up on the black market. We recently contacted Finland’s National Bureau of Investigation after Detective Superintendent Christer Ahlgren said on a programme that there is a strong suspicion that weapons destined for Ukraine have already appeared in Sweden, Denmark and the Netherlands, and that the necessary smuggling routes have also been established. In addition, there is a risk of the illegal arms trade rearing its head in Finland, he pointed out. Following our inquiry, the National Bureau of Investigation responded in a press release, stressing that although authorities have not yet found conclusive evidence,

“there is a possibility that criminals operating in Finland are trying to obtain weapons from conflict zones.”

The police seize numerous unlicensed weapons from members of organised crime every year and are aware that individual operators are interested in weapons used in war zones. The police have indications that, in the long run, members of organised crime may try to acquire weapons from Ukraine, too, the statement reads.

Europol, which provides assistance to the member states’ law enforcement authorities in the fight against serious international crimes and terrorism, indicated this past summer that there is a danger that the weapons intended for Ukraine may fall into the hands of criminal organisations. NATO and the EU have also issued an alert in the summer about arms smuggling in Ukraine. The authorities first wanted to eradicate this part of the black market with tracking systems. A month before, Interpol – the international organisation that helps police cooperation – warned that the weapons sent to Ukraine could reach criminal organisations and that these groups would grow stronger as more and more weapons arrived in Ukraine.