{"id":27424,"date":"2018-10-25T22:35:18","date_gmt":"2018-10-25T22:35:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/uncategorized\/2018\/10\/25\/un-investigators-check-weapons-seized-by-navy-warship\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T19:17:22","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T19:17:22","slug":"un-investigators-check-weapons-seized-by-navy-warship","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/news\/your-navy\/2018\/10\/25\/un-investigators-check-weapons-seized-by-navy-warship\/","title":{"rendered":"UN investigators check weapons seized by Navy warship"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

ABOARD THE USS JASON DUNHAM, Persian Gulf \u2014 The huge pile of rusting AK-47 rifles is tucked into a corner below the deck of the Jason Dunham<\/a>, serving as a grim reminder of how hard it is to catch weapons smugglers believed to be trafficking arms into Yemen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On Thursday U.N. inspectors boarded the American guided-missile destroyer, to examine the more than 2,500 guns the crew seized in late August and determine if suspicions are true that the weapons originated in Iran.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

U.S. officials have long accused Iran of smuggling arms across the waters to Yemen\u2019s Shiite Houthi rebels<\/a>, who have held Yemen\u2019s capital, Sanaa, since September 2014. But they have only managed to seize a handful of weapons caches in recent years, underscoring the difficulties in tracking down arms smugglers working the vast waters around Yemen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s one big traffic corridor,\u201d Vice Adm. Scott Stearney<\/a>, commander of U.S. 5th Fleet, told reporters Thursday. \u201cIt\u2019s not blocked, and it\u2019s not just lines on a map that people don\u2019t penetrate.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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A pile of weapons is jammed into a corner below the deck of the guided-missile destroyer Jason Dunham on Wednesday. The weapons, seized at the end of August, were inspected by U.N. officials on Thursday to determine what country they came from. (Lolita Baldor\/AP)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Stearney declined to say if he thought Iran was responsible for the shipment, but he said the U.N. inspectors were experts on illicit weapons from Iran, Yemen and Somalia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Jason Dunham on patrol in the region noticed large bags being transferred from a dhow about 70 miles off the coast of Yemen and into a smaller skiff. A dhow is a traditional ship that commonly sails the waters of the Persian Gulf region. The Navy ship intercepted the skiff and, after talking to the crew on board, determined they were smuggling weapons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The rifles, in bundles of four or five, were wrapped in plastic, then wrapped in Styrofoam and hidden in green burlap bags, according to Navy Cmdr. John Hamilton, commander of the Dunham.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On Wednesday, a small number of reporters were allowed to see the assault rifles, which were stained with rust after nearly two months at sea. The weapons had been unpacked and piled up, and were ready to be inspected the following day by the U.N. team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hamilton said the crew on the dhow initially told them they were carrying flour and wheat, but there was none of either on board.<\/p>\n\n\n\t