Israelis Sent Eqpt. For Making Rifles To Myanmar Despite U.S., EU Sanctions

An Israeli arms producer has provided Myanmar with equipment to manufacture arms despite the genocide being conducted against the Rohingya people in the country and the arms embargo imposed by the US and EU on Myanmar, Oded Yaron reported for the Israeli newspaper Haaretz.

Photo Insert: The company is licensed to produce assault rifles based on the Kalashnikov AK series.

Documents revealing the shipments were published Thursday by the Justice for Myanmar organization and Israeli human rights attorney Eitay Mack.

A bill of lading from July 2019 shows that Israeli arms producer CAA Industries shipped equipment to a known supplier of the Myanmar military, including molds for injecting plastic polymers and tools for computer-controlled machines (CNC), which are likely intended to manufacture rifle parts including grips, handles and stocks.

The shipment, weighing roughly two tons, departed from Ben-Gurion International Airport near Tel Aviv on August 10, 2019 for Bangkok, and continued on another flight to Yangon, the former capital of Myanmar.

According to its website, CAA Industries designs, develops and produces firearms and “modern tactical accessories, optics, tools and upgrades” for weapons such as the Roni, a conversion kit that fits on top of pistols and enables them to be used like submachine guns.

The company, per its website, is the official Israeli representative of the Russian national arms conglomerate Rostec, which has faced American sanctions since the Russian annexation of Crimea in 2014, and is licensed to produce assault rifles based on the Kalashnikov AK series.

The Star Sapphire Group, which bought the equipment and is the consignee on the bill of lading, served as the broker in a long series of arms deals with the Myanmar army.

Sanctions were recently imposed on the company – registered in Myanmar and Singapore – by the US Treasury Department.

The company’s managing director, Tun Min Latt, is close to the ruling military junta and was arrested last year in Thailand for his involvement in drug trafficking and money laundering.

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