Miliary-grade weaponry in Ukraine is allegedly being sold on to international buyers on the encrypted messaging app Telegram, including some hardware made in the United States.
Weapons that have been allegedly collected in Ukraine during the country’s ongoing war with Russia have been put up for sale on Telegram channels, including various kinds of automatic rifles and small arms.
Weapons said to be for sale include not just Ukrainian-origin arms such as old Soviet-era AK-47 rifles, but also American-made rifles like the M16 and the M4, along with other NATO member-origin firearms like the ARX 160 A1 manufactured by the Italian weapons company Beretta, newspaper Il Giornalereports.
It remains unclear whether the weapons are being sold by Ukrainians or by Russians who have collected them over the course of the war.
A Canadian NGO has warned that Western weapons shipped to Ukraine could not only end up in Russian hands but may even end up being sold on the international black market. https://t.co/l2AAXFUock
Canadian NGO Project Ploughshares warned earlier this year of the possibility that arms from the West could end up on the black market, with researcher Kelsey Gallagher saying there was a “real threat that the Ukrainian government can potentially not control all of these weapons.”
“Whenever this conflict does subside … these weapons aren’t just going to go ‘poof’ and disappear,” she added.
According to Il Giornale, the illegal arms trade often runs along the same routes as the illegal drug trade, noting that radical Islamic jihadist cells may be tempted to purchase weapons being sold through encrypted apps.
During the early days of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Islamic extremists called on jihadists to take advantage of the war, with the Islamic State terror organisation recommending supporters use the conflict to collect weapons that could be used in terror attacks, for example.
“To the brothers, supporters of the Islamic State in Russia and Ukraine: Seize the opportunity, brothers, and collect weapons – for weapons have been widely distributed to civilians – then attack the crusaders,” one Islamic State jihadist urged.
An al-Qaeda sympathiser from Jordan also described the conflict as a “divine gift” for Islam, saying: “Let Muslims see this war as a Divine gift to the Muslims [in Ukraine], in Russia, and in the entire world. For those who contemplate it, there are indications that it will change the face of the world, and if the Muslims take advantage of it, it will be a large building block that will advance them towards the renewal of their glory.”
Members of the Islamic State terrorist group have celebrated the ongoing conflict between the Russian Federation and Ukraine, expressing hope the war will spread to other European countries. https://t.co/zcaWLFyxuG
An actor who played one of the “Mighty Morphin Power Rangers” was charged over his alleged involvement in a scheme to fraudulently obtain federal COVID-19 relief money. Actor Jason Lawrence Geiger, 47, played the red ranger in multiple seasons of the 90’s television series.
The indictment, which was returned by a federal grand jury on May 12, 2022, charges the defendants with conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, a group led by Michael Hill and Andrew Moran is alleged to have executed a scheme to defraud lenders and the Small Business Administration’s (SBA’s) Paycheck Protection Program (PPP).
Geiger, the former Red Power Ranger, was allegedly part of the network.
“Hill is alleged to have recruited co-conspirators to use an existing business or create a business to submit applications to obtain PPP funding. Once enlisted, Moran is alleged to have assisted his co-conspirators with the application paperwork, including fabricating supporting documentation and submitting the application through the online portals,” prosecutors said.
“On the applications, the defendants are alleged to have misrepresented material information such as the true nature of their business, the number of employees, and the amount of payroll. Based on these material misrepresentations, the SBA and other financial institutions approved and issued loans to the defendants.”
The loans were provided as part of the federal government’s massive $349 billion federal CARES Act. Funding was supposed to go to businesses who either lost money or were forced to close as a result of COVID-19 lockdowns, but the group led by Moran and Hill pocketed the cash for themselves.
In some instances, those accused sent the money to Jonathan Spencer, 33, to invest in foreign exchange markets, prosecutors said.
Geiger was arrested Tuesday and remains behind bars until a court hearing in Plano on Monday. He has pleaded not guilty to a single count against him.
According to The New York Post, the former “Mighty Morphin Power Rangers” actor plans to “vigorously defend himself against this allegation.”
There is so much about this sequence that is just plain insane.
Joe Biden arrived in South Korea and when deboarding the plane alone, he is wearing a black mask. Once he goes down the stairs and steps on the ground, he takes off his mask as he met by the leaders in Korea.
WATCH: Joe Biden arrives in South Korea, wears mask as he exits plane by himself, then as he approaches another person, he takes it off. pic.twitter.com/UKTs8y6XCj
— The Post Millennial (@TPostMillennial) May 21, 2022
For one, Joe Biden pretending to be the elected President of the United States is wrong. All Americans know that there is no way Joe Biden earned 81 million votes in the 2020 Election. The guy couldn’t get 10 people at his rallies.
And secondly, Biden wearing a mask outdoors with no one near him is a joke. The mask provides no protection to him or anyone else in this picture.
Thirdly, after Biden sees his hosts, Biden takes off the mask. No one there is wearing the mask. If it was necessary for Biden to wear the mask down the stairs, it would have been necessary to wear it around others, but instead, Biden takes it off.
On Friday we heard testimony from her own Campaign Manager that Hillary Clinton encouraged the fake news story that candidate and President Trump was a puppet of Russian President Putin. President Trump asks how does he ever get his reputation back?
Hillary’s Campaign Manager swore under oath on Friday that Hillary was behind the Russia collusion lies about President Trump.
Mook shared that Hillary knew about it and approved it.
Hillary Clinton called President Trump a puppet of Russian President Putin. Behind the scenes, we now know that she was working on lies to tie candidate Trump to Putin. It was all made up. Hillary was playing chicken with Russia risking a nuclear war.
President Trump shared on FOX News about this revelation and how his reputation was so terribly damaged by Hillary’s lies.
Former President Donald Trump reacted to the bombshell testimony out of the trial of Michael Sussmann that Hillary Clinton herself approved the dissemination of false information alleging a covert communications channel between the Trump Organization and a Russian bank to the media.
Trump told Fox News Digital that the entire Russia investigation is “one of the greatest political scandals in history,” and that he will “never” get his “reputation fully back.”
Former Clinton campaign manager Robby Mook on Friday testified as part of the first criminal trial out of Special Counsel John Durham’s years-long investigation into the origins of the Trump-Russia probe, saying Clinton approved and “agreed” to share the discredited data with the media.
FOX News won’t have President Trump on their regular news shows because they don’t want him sharing the truth about the stolen 2020 Election and the attacks he endured while in the White House all based on lies from the left and their RINO accomplices.
Americans know the truth and have known it for years.