Leaked documents including scanned passports of US, Saudi and UAE arms dealers and government officials expose for the first time an international weapons shipment network for arming militants in Yemen, including Islamic State terrorists in Yemen.

Recently I anonymously received explosive documents from the Serbian state-owned arms manufacturer Krusik, including e-mails, internal memos, contracts, photos, delivery schedules, and packing lists with lot numbers of weapons and their buyers. Among the leaked documents I also received scanned passports of arms dealers and government officials from the US, Saudi Arabia and UAE. They visited the Serbian arms factory to purchase weapons (mortar shells and rockets) on behalf of the US Government, Saudi Defence Ministry and UAE Army. Some of these weapons, however, have ended up with terrorists in Yemen.

Tracing Islamic State weapons in Yemen back to their suppliers

Serbian mortar shells manufactured by the Serbian state-owned arms factory Krusik can often be seen in the hands of Islamic State terrorists in their propaganda videos in Yemen.

Serbian weapons with Islamic State in Yemen 1 of 12

I traced back two particular lots of Serbian mortar shells whose identification marks were clearly visible. I used the documents that were leaked to me from the Serbian arms factory Krusik to find out who had originally ordered and purchased these lots of weapons.

The two letters KV mean that those mortar shells were manufactured by the Serbian arms factory Krusik (K stands for Krusik and V – for Valjevo, the town where the factory is located). The following digits 04/18 mean that the mortar shells are lot 04, produced in 2018.

According to the documents, such 82 mm M74HE mortar shells KV lot 04/18 which appear in the Islamic State video in Yemen were purchased by the American company Alliant Techsystems LLC (a wholly owned subsidiary of ATK Orbital, USA) on behalf of the US Government. The end user indicated is the Afghan Army. However, weapons from this particular lot appear with Islamic State terrorists in Yemen.

These mortar shells 81 mm M72 HE KV Lot 01/18 were purchased by the Saudi Ministry of Defence, according to documents from the manufacturer Krusik. The exporter was the Serbian private company GIM, represented by the Serbian interior minister Nebojsa Stefanivic’s father – Branko Stefanovic. Besides being interior minister, his son Nebojsa Stefanivic is also the vice prime minister of Serbia.

GIM signed four contracts with Saudi Arabia for the delivery of 517,000 pcs. of mortar shells from Krusik (one contract – in 2016, and three contracts – in 2018 respectively). The exporter from Serbia was GIM and the importers in Saudi Arabia were two private companies: Rinad Al Jazira, Saudi Arabia and Larkmont Holdings LTD, an offshore company registered in the British Virgin Islands. The end user was the Ministry of Defence of Saudi Arabia.

The Serbian vice prime minister’s father Branko Stefanovic mediated the arms deals with Saudi Arabia.

A GIM letter dated 27 April 2017 to Krusik lists the names of three GIM representatives and three Raniad Al Jazira employees who visited the arms factory in order to inspect and accept the ordered weapons. Among the GIM representatives was Branko Stefanovic.

In a letter to Arms Watch GIM denied that Branko Stefanovic is a representative of GIM despite the fact that he is listed as such in the company’s document to Krusik (read the full response of GIM below). However, Serbian President Alexandar Vucic confirmed that Branko Stefanovic worked for GIM. According to the Serbian President “he was just an ordinary employee”.

GIM's Response 1 of 3

The offshore deal

GIM also sold Serbian weapons manufactured by Krusik to the Saudi Defence Ministry via an offshore company registered in the British Virgin Islands, Larkmont Holdings LTD, according to leaked e-mails from GIM to Krusik.

From Serbia via the British Virgin Islands to Saudi Arabia 1 of 13

There is no information about the owner of Larkmont Holdings LTD, British Virgin Islands. However, indirect links suggest Saudi ownership. According to the Cyprus Trade Registry, the offshore company is a shareholder in a local company, Milvards Limited, along with a Saudi national, Yousef Alotaibi. The company provides security services, general merchandise, and more.

Larkmont Holdings LTD 1 of 7

Corruption

GIM purchased weapons from the Serbian state-owned company Krusik at a much lower price than other Krusik’s customers, which raises questions as to whether the state-owned company was defrauded by these deals. Not only did these weapons end up with Islamic State in Yemen, but they were also purchased by GIM (the company represented by the Serbian vice prime minister’s father) at a much lower price than the price initially offered by Krusik, as internal documents reveal.

Special Discount 1 of 4

Furthermore, the price which GIM pays per piece of mortar shell is much lower than the price per piece of the same item which the state-owned company Jugoimport SDPR, for instance, pays.

According to the leaked documents, the state-owned arms manufacturer Krusik has been defrauded of hundreds of thousands of dollars intentionally for the benefit of the private arms company GIM.

Diplomatic fights with weapons

The weapons were exported from GIM to Saudi Arabia directly on Silk Way Airlines flights, or by sea from the port of Burgas in Bulgaria to Jeddah in Saudi Arabia.

Silk Way Diplomatic Flights 1 of 11

Silk Way Airlines, which the Saudi Ministry of Defence commissioned to transport the Serbian weapons on diplomatic flights, is an Azeri state-run company. Diplomatic notes, which were leaked to me in 2017, revealed that Silk Way Airlines carried out 350 diplomatic flights with weapons for terrorists in Syria, Afghanistan, Yemen and Africa. The flights were chartered by the Pentagon, Saudi Arabia and UAE. Diplomatic flights are exempt from inspections and air bills. The same air company, Silk Way Airlines, was chartered by the Pentagon to transport Serbian mortar shells to Afghanistan on 8 May 2018. Such weapons from the same lot as those transported to Afghanistan appeared in a recent Islamic State video in Yemen.

On 10 March 2019 GIM re-exported Serbian weapons from the port of Burgas, in Bulgaria, to Jeddah, in Saudi Arabia, on the ship Bow Diamond, sailing under the flag of Gibraltar.

Cargo Vessel Bow Diamond – Burgas-Jeddah (10 March-21 March 2019) 1 of 5

On 28 June 2019 the Swiss cargo vessel Thorco Basilisk sailed from the port of Burgas, Bulgaria to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, carrying 21 containers with 43,000 pcs. of Serbian mortar shells.

Cargo Vessel Thorco Basilisk – Burgas-Jeddah (28 June-6 July 2019) 1 of 8

Weapons for #Libya’s Haftar or #Yemen from an EU country? Bulgaria’s booming arms trade continues to grow: Swiss flag cargo vessel Thorco Basilisk transits Bosphorus towards Med carrying weapons from Burgas to Port Said if Libya or to a Saudi port if cargo destined for Yemen pic.twitter.com/aUiLW4UBOI — Yörük Işık (@YorukIsik) June 30, 2019

Private contractors

Documents reveal that the Saudi Defense Ministry has commissioned private contractors from the USA and UAE (all of whom are American nationals), to purchase and transport the Serbian weapons. Such private contractors are often used by secret services for covert operations involving illegal activities abroad. According to leaked documents, private contractors from the USA and UAE were tasked with the delivery of 20,000 pcs. of Grad rockets from Serbia to Saudi Arabia in 2017, 2018 and 2019. The end user is not indicated in the contract. Furthermore, the Saudi army does not use such rockets.

In 2016 the Serbian company Krupnik signed a $ 69.72 million contract with the arms manufacturer Krusik for the delivery of 20,000 pcs. of 122 mm Grad rockets to Saudi Arabia. Krupnik and Krusik signed another three contracts for the delivery of 9,000 pcs. of 120 mm M87P2, ILL mortar shells, 7,600 pcs. of 82 mm M74P1(white phosphorus) mortar shells, and 85,000 pcs. of 82 mm M74 HE mortar shells to Saudi Arabia.

Contracts between Krusik and Krupnik 1 of 6

The private contractors are not mentioned in any of the documents about these exports. However, leaked letters from the exporter Krupnik to the manufacturer Krusik reveal that these rockets and mortar shells (including white phosphorus) were taken from the factory by private contractors. Leaked passports reveal the identities of the people involved. The exact role of these private contractors is not specified in any of the documents. However, their nationality (USA, Bulgaria, Romania) suggests an international joint operation.

On 17 April 2017, representatives of the Serbian exporter Krupnik visited the arms factory for final inspection of the ordered weapons along with a delegation of nine foreigners: two Saudis from the Ministry of Defense of Saudi Arabia, two Americans from Heptagon Global Trading, UAE, one American national from Armytrans Ltd., USA, one American from Tradewinds Logistics Group, USA, one Bulgarian and two Romanians, also from Tradewinds Logistics Group, USA.

Leaked passports of Saudi officials and private contractors who visited Krusik in 2017 1 of 11

On 10 and 11 December 2018 the same foreigners visited Krusik again to take the rest of the ordered weapons, along with four other Saudi officials from the Defense Ministry of Saudi Arabia.

Leaked passports of Saudi officials and private contractors who visited Krusik in 2018 1 of 13

The American national Paul McKeon Miller Evans, who visited Krusik to inspect the Saudi-purchased weapons as representative of Armytrans, USA in 2017, was listed as project manager at Heptagon Global Trading, UAE, during his second visit in 2018.

Another American national, Helmut G. Mertins, who visited Krusik as director of Heptagon Global Trading, UAE, appears to have been involved in deals on the Balkans for at least 10 years. Photos published on Facebook in 2009 show him posing next to a Silk Way Airlines plane at Plovdiv Airport in Bulgaria.

Armytrans USA, Heptagon Global Trading UAE, and Tradewinds Logistics USA, whose employees visited Krusik to inspect and accept the Saudi-purchased weapons, are not party to the contract with the Serbian arms factory. However, these companies accepted and transported the weapons out of Serbia. The common element are their American employees.

Furthermore, Heptagon Global Trading and Tradewinds Logistics are directly linked in the United States. Heptagon Global Trading, UAE, has a branch in Texas, USA, whose director is Justine Hargrove. The same name is listed as the chairman of the Tradewinds Logistics branch in Florida. Both companies – Heptagon Global Trading and Tradewinds Logistics, share the same address – 10687 Gaskins Way, Suite 105, Manassas 20109 VA, United States (see the document library below). However, there are no public records about their owners. Tradewinds Logistics is registered as an offshore company in Delaware, USA. According to the company’s website, Tradewinds Logistics provides secure transport, secure inland escort and the majority of its staff hold US Security clearance, meaning that they perform work for the US Government.

The company manages DOD Supply Chain Operations in Saudi Arabia and seeks to hire a senior program manager for deployment in the Gulf region.

Tradewinds Logistics Group (TLG), USA 1 of 8

According to leaked documents, the American contractors transported 11,000 pcs. of Serbian Grad rockets in 2017 and 2018, and 9,000 pcs. of Grad rockets in 2019. The weapons were exported on truck from Serbia to the port of Burgas in Bulgaria from where they were re-exported by sea to Jeddah in Saudi Arabia.

Saudi-purchased Grad rockets 1 of 5

2,000 pcs. of Serbian Grad rockets from Krusik were exported from Burgas to Jeddah on 16 July 2019 on the general cargo vessel Jork, sailing under the flag of Antigua Barbuda.

The general cargo vessel Jork transits the Bosphorus en-route from Burgas to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, 17 July 2019 (Source: Yörük Işık )

Saudi Arabia has purchased a total of 1,286,462 pcs. of ammunition from the Serbian arms factory Krusik since 2017.

These exports are just a small part of a covert international weapons shipment network for arming militants in the Middle East. I have published documents and evidence linking these exports directly to Islamic State terrorists in Yemen. I have also published the names and passports of arms dealers and government officials from the US and Saudi Arabia because they must be interrogated and those who arm terrorists must be held to account.

If you have any information about these people, or other illicit arms deals, please, contact me here, and help us to stop the arming of terrorists and to save lives.

More leaked documents you can read here:

Islamic State weapons in Yemen traced back to US Government: Serbia files (part 1)

US Task Force Smoking Gun smuggles weapons to Syria: Serbia files (part 2)