For the fictional character see Gunrunner (Transformers).

A tower of confiscated smuggled weapons about to be set ablaze in Nairobi, Kenya

Illegal arms trafficking, or gunrunning, is trafficking in (smuggling) contraband weapons and ammunition.

[edit] Areas

Although arms trafficking is widespread in regions of political turmoil, it is not limited to such areas, and for example, in South Asia, an estimated 63 million guns have been trafficked into India and Pakistan.^[1]

The suppression of gunrunning is one of the areas of increasing interest in the context of international law.

Examples of past and current gunrunning include:

• Larne gun-running
• Provisional IRA arms importation.^{[citation needed]}

Police in Karamoja, Uganda have banned the sale and usage of packed and locally brewed gin to curb arms trafficking and deaths. The police arrested people involved in the gin business as well as dealing in ammunition. They had found out that some business people that were selling gin had been hiding ammunitions in jerry cans and selling them to the Karimojong.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Market value

The total value of the illegal arms market is difficult to estimate. However, available estimates place the value of the arms trafficking market in the billions of dollars.^[2]

[edit] Legal trade

Arms trafficking is a crime and should not be confused with legal and legitimate commerce in firearms for private use, or for military or police procurement.^[3] What constitutes legal trade in firearms varies widely, depending on local and national laws.^[3]

[edit] See also

• Arms control
• Arms industry
• Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF)
• Firearm
• Gun politics
• Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)
• International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL)
• Irish Mob
• Irregular Warfare
• Organized crime
• Russian Mafia
• Small arms
• Small Arms, Light Weapons (SALW)
• Terrorism
• Viktor Bout

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Arms Sales Monitoring Project at the Federation of American Scientists
• Small Arms and Bullets Trafficking Resources

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