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Greek Citizen Pleads Guilty to Arms Trade

arms tradeOn Wednesday, a Greek citizen, Ioannis Viglakis, pled guilty in front of the U.S. federal court, for attempting to sell weapons to the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC).

The Manhattan U.S. Attorney, Preet Bharara noted that “By providing functioning rocket-propelled grenade launchers and other military-grade weapons to an individual he believed to be a FARC associate, Ioannis Viglakis was attempting to arm a known terrorist organization that he understood would use those weapons against Americans and Colombians.”

According to the DEA press release, an undercover operation was held in order to arrest the arms dealer. Drug Enforcement Administration agents held a meeting with Viglakis feigning to be FARC members in need of weapons. According to sources within the DEA he “offered to provide the FARC with functional, bona fide, military-grade weapons” such as grenade launchers (RPGs), assault rifles and surface-to-air missiles and receive cocaine and cash as a form of payment.

DEA Administrator Michele Leonhart said: “this investigation clearly demonstrates DEA’s unique ability to disrupt and dismantle the arms-trafficking networks that supply weapons to the most significant global narco-terror organizations. We will continue to aggressively pursue international arms dealers and narco-terrorists who are focused on harming our nation’s security.”

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