Interpol Secretary General Jurgen Stock warned today that large quantities of weapons sent to Ukraine could end up in the hands of criminals from Europe and other parts of the world.
“The high availability of weapons during the current conflict will result in the proliferation of illegal weapons in the post-conflict stage,” said the Secretary-General.
This will further strengthen the organized crime gangs, which have increased their activity globally, taking advantage of the situation created by the Russian bombings in the last three months.
“It will happen, I have no doubt … Criminals are already focusing on that as we speak,” Stock told the Anglo-American Press Association in Paris today.
Western allies of the Ukrainian government have delivered tons of weapons to Ukraine. The aim is to try to control the advance of the Russian forces, which have captured the pieces of land in the east and south of the country.
Yesterday, US President Joe Biden said that Washington would send “the most advanced missile and ammunition systems to the Ukrainians” after promising or providing thousands of assault rifles and anti-tank rockets.
“Even heavy weapons used by the military can find their way into crime markets,” Stock warned.
“We have a database to share information about weapons,” said the secretary general.
“We encourage member states (…) to use these databases, because no region or country can handle it alone,” he insisted.
“The criminals I’m talking about operate on a global level, so transactions regarding these weapons will be done between continents,” he said.
The war in Ukraine has also led to “an increase in large-scale fertilizer theft and chemical counterfeiting as these goods become more valuable,” Stock said.
“Rising gasoline prices have also led to increased gasoline theft in Europe and elsewhere.”
source: Noticias
