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Afghans charge security operatives
Two UK private security contractors arrested four weeks ago in Afghanistan on suspicion of smuggling AK-47 assault rifles have been charged by Afghan authorities.
Local police detained the men, named last month as Julian Steele and James Davis, along with two Afghan colleagues in the capital Kabul on January 3.
Afghan officials said they were found to be transporting 30 AK-47s with their serial numbers scratched off and did not have the necessary firearms permits.
Yesterday, GardaWorld the international security firm for which all four men were working, confirmed charges had been filed.
In a statement, the firm said: “On Tuesday January 3, 2012, four members of our Afghanistan team were detained for carrying unlicensed weapons. They were taking the weapons to be tested at a firing range before being purchased and properly licensed by GardaWorld. The case is now moving through the Afghan judicial system, a charge sheet has been filed and is under review. We are fully co-operating with the Afghan authorities to resolve this situation.
“GardaWorld complies with all laws and regulations in our Afghanistan operations and we are making every effort to rectify the situation as quickly as possible with the Afghan government.”
A Foreign Office spokesman said it could not add to a statement made at the time of the arrest – that the UK vice-consul in Kabul had visited the men and the Embassy continued to provide consular assistance.
The arrests were the latest in a series of disputes between security firms and Afghan authorities.
Afghan president Hamid Karzai has ordered all private protection firms to close this year, to be replaced by a government-run security service called the Afghan Public Protection Force.
Former Army officer Bill Shaw, of UK-based security firm G4S, was sentenced to a two-year prison term and fined £16,000 in March 2010 after being found guilty of bribing officials. He said he believed he was paying a legitimate fine but was cleared on appeal and freed four months later.
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