Three cargo ships with at least 4,700 tons of guns and weaponry have left the ports of Constanta, Romania, and Burgas, Bulgaria to Middle East’s war zones in the last eight months, shows an investigation by the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network and the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project. Some of the arms have been sent to Syria.

The investigation reveals how thousands of assault rifles, mortar shells, rocket launchers, anti-tank weapons, and heavy machine guns, worth USD 1.2 billion, originating from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Montenegro, Romania, Serbia, and Slovakia, poured into conflict areas in the Middle East, such as Syria or Yemen.

Romania has earned about EUR 81 million from its contribution to the weaponry pipeline since 2012, according to the investigation.

Romania’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MAE) responded that Romania complies with the highest control standards when it comes to weaponry exports.

“All the military products exported by Romania are presented in the quarterly and annual reports presented on www.ancex.ro,” according to a MAE press release. These reports are then sent to EU, UN, and OSCE.

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editor@romania-insider.com