2,000 assorted riffles destined for Somalia intercepted by Australian Navy

An Australian naval ship operating in the Indian Ocean has seized a large arms cache believed to have been destined to Somalia to arm the Al Shabaab militants. The deadly arsenal that included nearly 2,000 AK-47 rifles and rocket propelled grenade launchers was found hidden in a smuggling vessel off the coast of Oman.

The Australian military said the naval ship HMAS DARWIN was part of a multinational Anti-Terror Task Force deployed in the region. Naval officers discovered the arsenal hidden between fishing nets when they searched the stateless vessel about 313 kilometers off the coast of Oman.

Close to 90 assorted machine guns and 20 military mortar tubes were also found on the boat.

The vessel was seized under United Nations sanctions which authorize interdiction on the high seas of illicit weapons destined for Somalia. In 2014, the crew of HMAS DARWIN seized heroin valued at more than 23 billion shillings off the Kenyan Coast.

The multinational task force has been combating illegal movement of weapons and illicit drugs trade believed to be funding Al Shabaab’s activities.

The seizure is significant news for Kenya’s military, which is part of the African Union force that is battling Al Shabaab inside Somalia. Scores of Kenya soldiers were killed in January when the militants who use weapons acquired illegally attacked their camp in El Adde.

CNN reported that the 18 people aboard the ship were released in accordance with international maritime law.

Meanwhile, a Mombasa court has allowed the anti-terror police unit to detain for 30 days four terror suspects arrested while trying to cross into Uganda. Mohamed Abdalla Kasim, Faraj Fahim Swaleh, Ali Omari Bwanadi and Kassim Ahmed, who were allegedly enroute to Libya to Join ISIS, will now be detained at various police stations in Mombasa.

The suspects reportedly escaped a police dragnet earlier in January at their Majengo hideout.

During that raid, police recovered a G3 rifle that had been stolen from a slain police officer.