Gunrunning Out of Iraq

Iraqi arms dealers have no shortage of domestic clients, but their latest and most lucrative market is Saudi Arabia, where increased demand for small arms has caused a spike in prices inside Iraq.

Abu Ahmed, an elderly man from Baghdad, has an eclectic local clientele for his gunrunning business, finding buyers among northern Kurds and southern Shia, as well as Sunnis from Fallujah and western Iraq.

"I make a lot of money easily," said Abu Ahmed, talking to an IWPR reporter posing as a buyer.

He attributes the booming Saudi market to recent attacks by Islamic militants there, which he said have undermined confidence in the Kingdom's ability to provide security or prevent even ordinary crimes such as kidnappings.

The dealer described a smuggling pipeline involving multiple participants. The starting point comes when Abu Ahmed's family approaches other dealers in Iraq to purchase arms.

One favoured weapon is the Browning pistol, which can be bought on the domestic market for 400,000 dinars, or 270 US dollars, and eventually sold to a Saudi arms trader for 700,000 dinars, about 500 dollars.

Abu Ahmed and his sons transport their cargo southwards via the Shia holy city of Karbala. They use an old car and they fly banners from the windows to make the authorities think they are pilgrims.

In Karbala, Abu Ahmed switches to a newer and more reliable car for the next stage of the journey – the desert road leading through the southern town of Arar to the Saudi border. This is seen as a good route because checkpoints are rare.

Abu Ahmed meets up with a Saudi merchant 50 kilometres before the border. Under the supervision of his Saudi trading partner, he hands the weapons over to Iraqi and Saudi shepherds.

"Most of the shepherds are Iraqis, but a few of them are Saudis who practice smuggling," says Abu Ahmed's eldest son, Ahmed.

The Saudi shepherds are among the Kingdom's poor, unable to find work in the cities.

Once, Ahmed said, he accompanied four shepherds on the trip into Saudia Arabia. Their journey toward the border began in the morning, with the weapons either carried or slung on the backs of sheep.

The shepherds rested up close to the border post in the evening. Then, at dawn, they slipped across at dawn when the guards were asleep, during what he calls "the golden time for smuggling".

On the other side of the border, they were met by their Saudi agents and received their money. After resting two days, the shepherds returned to Iraq.

Despite a safe return, Ahmed vowed that he himself will not make the arduous desert journey again.

"Smuggling is hard and dangerous work,” he said, “and I did only one operation.” After that, he said, “I quit.”

Mohammed Fawzi is an IWPR trainee in Baghdad.