ISIS Weapons Seized en Route to European Refugee Camps
By Daren Knight
It would appear that it only takes a headline like this for posts on Social Media to go viral. However, this reported incident isn’t true.
Various versions of the embedded post below are going viral on Social Media websites. It claims that Greek authorities have seized a weapons cache that was en route to European refugee camps. The weapons and ammunition are reported to have been disguised as plastic furniture.
So What Are Those Weapons?
On Tuesday September 1, the Greek coast guard boarded General Cargo Ship Haddad 1 (IMO7413921), while she was underway 20 nautical miles north-east of Crete. The vessel, with a crew of seven (reportedly made up of Syrian, Egyptian and Indian nationals) and which had sailed from the Turkish port of Iskenderun, was escorted to Heraklion port.
On inspection, the Bolivian-flagged vessel's shipping containers were found to contain a substantial number of weapons and ammunition.
Greek authorities claim that the undeclared shipment of weapons, with no supporting documentation, was en route from Turkey to Libya.
A Turkish foreign ministry spokesman confirmed the cargo included weapons but said it was fully documented and was destined for the Sudanese police force. The vessel was also carrying building materials for Libya, he said.
Foreign ministry spokesman Tanju Bilgic said that the company which owned the ship was registered in the Greek port city of Piraeus and that the vessel had begun its journey in Famagusta in northern Cyprus and had also passed through the Egyptian port of Alexandria. It came to Iskenderun on August 25 and left four days later, he said.
"If investigations by the Greek authorities show that the consignment is going to receivers other than those stated in the vessel's documentation, and if that is shared with us, naturally measures could be taken," Turkey's Bilgic said.
Verify, Verify, Verify!
Social Media, when used responsibly, is an excellent tool for propagating information, news and intelligence. However, human nature means that in most incidences, people have an agenda when they publish something for a mass audience. This means that Social Media is also an excellent tool for spreading propaganda and hate. For those who do use the medium for this purpose, they can also make their messages seem very authentic too.
My advice is to always question everything. The internet and Open Source Intelligence (OSINT) is an incredibly useful asset. If you see something that you're not sure about - check it. Run keywords through various search engines and reverse search images through the Google Images search facility.
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But please, I urge everyone, do not simply share posts of a controversial nature without having done some form of due diligence - for the sake of your own integrity.
Daren Knight is Managing Director at Knight Associates Ltd
The opinions expressed herein are the author's and not necessarily those of The Maritime Executive.