In Iraq weapons are selled online with home delivery included
In Iraq, as the government struggles to tighten its control on arms possession following the overthrow of Islamic State extremists and limit it to official troops, weapons are selling online, with dealers offering home deliveries.
According to Iraqi website SNG, arms traders are openly marketing their multi-source merchandise through specialized social network pages.
Contrary to the tradition in pre-2003 Iraq, when arms purchases were conducted through mediators, with the then iron-fisted state usually foiling the transaction, arms are now on higher demand, with technology including more development in the trade that delivery service is now offered.
SNG quoted one dealer, a 27-year-old to which it referred with initials (M. D.), saying that deals are made through specialized facebook pages as well as private online chats. “The price of a certain piece, make it a pistol or an automatic gun, is negotiated through social networks, then delivery is carried out [from dealer to customer].
Another dealer says “transactions are sometimes made through mediators, and the meetup happens at secret spots away from the public…there are secret agreements between dealers and members of political parties to facilitate he trade, tapping into the influence and weight those parties enjoy on the Iraqi streets”. He adds that, “in the past period, the trade was highly difficult and risky, but now became simpler, with a delivery service included per request”.
Tarek Harb, an Iraqi legal expert, told the website that arms trade is criminalized disregarding the medium, and penalties could mount to death sentence if the purchase was linked to terrorist action. For light unlicensed weapons, penalties range from 3 to 5 years in prison as well as fining.
But Hayan al-Khayyat, another expert, told SNG that the law provides for “imprisonment” for whoever deals in weapons parts or whole weapons smuggling, trade or manufacture without an official license. He says that such a term means that the penalty could range from 5 to 15 years in prison.
Source: Iraqi News
