How UAE caught an arms cell hiding ammunition behind a humanitarian cover

A private aircraft was granted permission to land at a UAE airport after its operators submitted forged documentation. The landing permit request, now part of the official court record, listed the cargo nature as “Humanitarian Aid/Medical” and named the consignee as the Federal Ministry of Health, Republic of Sudan Government.

A separate shipping document described the contents as “Humanitarian Medical Equipments and Surgical Tools.”

What the aircraft was actually carrying was Goryunov ammunition which is part of an elaborate arms smuggling scheme using front companies, falsified records, and the cover of humanitarian relief to move military materiel bound for Port Sudan.

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The deception did not work. On April 30 of last year, UAE security authorities had foiled an attempt to illegally pass these weapons and military material to the Port Sudan Authority. The defendants were arrested, and a year-long investigation began, which has now ended with 13 individuals and 6 UAE-registered companies referred to the Abu Dhabi Federal Court of Appeal (State Security Court).

'Tell them to fly it tonight'

Among the evidence gathered by investigators was a recorded phone call featuring Salah Abdallah Mohammed Saleh, known as Salah Gosh, the former Director of Sudan’s National Intelligence Service. 

In the recording, Gosh is heard expressing urgency and frustration over a delayed flight, pressing his contact to move the aircraft immediately. “Tell them, to fly it tonight, any way they can fly it,” he is heard saying. He noted that the shipment was originally supposed to arrive on a specific day and that those waiting for it would not accept further delays.

The recording is consistent with the role attributed to Gosh in the official case file. According to UAE authorities, Gosh is the former head of Sudan’s National Intelligence Service and one of the early founders of Al-Qaeda’s network in Sudan.

He previously controlled companies exporting livestock abroad under the cover of the armed forces, and was one of the principal defendants in the commission of the Darfur massacres. He was subsequently placed on US sanctions lists in connection with fuelling Sudan’s conflict. 

In this case, investigators confirmed that he oversaw the planning and execution of the arms deals through the UAE. His share of the profit margin from the deals was found in the possession of co-defendant Khalid Yousef Mukhtar Yousef, his former office director, and was seized by authorities at the time of arrest.

Two deals, one network

The scheme was built around two interrelated transactions. The first, concluded outside the UAE, involved the supply of Kalashnikov rifles, machine guns, and grenades — declared at $13 million while the actual value did not exceed $10 million, with the $3 million difference distributed as illicit commissions. 

Payments were routed through licensed UAE companies and bank accounts under fictitious commercial cover.

The second deal was executed inside the UAE, using more than $2 million from the first deal’s proceeds to fund the Goryunov ammunition shipment — the one that arrived under the cover of humanitarian medical aid.

Investigators seized the actual contract underpinning the deal, signed between defendant Rashed Omar acting as the customer through his company Aboudof, and defendant Abdullah Khalafallah acting as the covert supplier through Portex Trade Limited — in partnership with Salah Gosh. 

The contract, now part of the court record, details the supply terms, delivery conditions, and the agreed contract value.

Investigations further revealed that the defendants had prepared plans for 6 additional transactions to smuggle 5 million more rounds of Goryunov ammunition. The interception of the first shipment stopped all of them.

Who is behind it

The 13 defendants include Ahmed Rabie Sayed Ahmed Mohammed, identified as the cell’s principal organiser; Salah Abdallah Mohammed Saleh, known as Salah Gosh, the former Director of Sudan’s National Intelligence Service; and Yasser Abdulrahman Hassan Al Atta, Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Sudanese Armed Forces,and the 6 UAE registered companies.

The Public Prosecution stressed that the UAE will not tolerate any attempt to exploit its territory, institutions, or financial system for unlawful purposes, affirming that the sovereignty and security of the state are a red line and that the law will be applied with full firmness to all those involved.