En vogue: Smuggled NATO weapons fetch a pretty penny in black

M-16 rifles and Beretta military pistols have become a status symbol for country’s upper class.

PESHAWAR:

Quality US and Nato military assault rifles and handguns are finding their way into the illegal arms markets of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata), arms dealers told The Express Tribune. Dealers in Darra Adam Khel told The Express Tribune M-16 assault rifles and Berettas—standard issue weapons for the US army—are selling like hot cakes, despite their high prices.

“People consider Darra Adam Khel to be the largest black market for arms, but it’s actually the largest retail market in the black arms trade in Pakistan,” said arms dealer Siraj Afridi. “The largest wholesale market is Jamrud where traders smuggle in weapons from Afghanistan and then supply them to dealers in Darra Adam Khel.”

Darra Adam Khel lies between Peshawar and Kohat, in Frontier Region Kohat. Smaller arms markets exist in nearly every agency, including Mohmand Agency and Bajaur Agency, he added.

See my guns

M-16 assault rifles and Beretta 9mm military pistols—stolen from the US army and other Nato allies in Afghanistan—are in demand and have become quite the status symbol among the country’s upper class.

“I personally don’t like M-16 assault rifles,” said Siraj. “They are too complex and have too many small parts; the AK-47 is simple to use, easy to clean and withstands all conditions.”

Siraj added, “But these rich people insist on buying them [M-16] for their guards.” M-16 rifles are in demand because they are relatively light and their cartridges comparatively cheap, he said. “You can easily buy accessories for these fancy guns such as aiming lasers, optics and mini torches; these too are smuggled in from Afghanistan,” he explained.

“A Beretta 9mm is available for Rs1.5 lakh a piece; the M-16 rifles are sold for Rs5 lakh,” added the dealer. “People only buy an M-16 if it is guaranteed it is a military gun taken from the US Army with a ‘property of the US government’ stamp.” Beretta handguns are manufactured in Italy but used by the US army as sidearms.

Supply chain

According to Yousaf Afridi, another arms dealer, the inflow of arms is not of the same magnitude as the weapons smuggled into the country during the Afghan war in the 1980s. At the time, millions of AK-47 had reached these markets.

The M-16s and Berettas are only in the thousands, said Yousaf. AK-47s are still coming in to Pakistan, mainly stolen from the Afghan National Army, he estimated.

Heavy and medium-machine guns used by the US army are also sold in the market, said Yousaf. However, these are rather expensive and only available in short supply, he added.

M-16s are also locally manufactured, using US components.

The M-16s made in Darra Adam Khel are cheaper at a lakh a piece. These are fitted with some parts made in the US, said Yousaf.

“The parts, including barrels, bolts and upper bodies, have been stolen from Nato containers and are now being used to manufacture low-quality rifles by local gunsmiths,” added Yousaf.

After people started breaking into Nato containers in Landikotal, Nato adopted a strategy of sending their rifles in parts. The resulted illegal supply into the markets would sometimes just be of one component.

“Just the barrel for M-16 rifles is available for Rs25,000 and a bolt is usually sold for Rs2,000,” said Yousaf. “Although the [locally-assembled] rifles have no local demand, affluent families from Punjab and Sindh buy them frequently,” he added.

According to Yousaf, gunsmiths have also started converting Chinese semi-automatic rifles—imported legally—into automatic rifles. Although this costs a few thousand rupees, the guns are sold at illegal retail markets for Rs1.6 lakh.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 20^th, 2014.