German military's 10,000 pistols reportedly on black market

[Naveed Yaseen]

KABUL (October 12 2009): German military pistols are being sold on the black market in Afghanistan and Pakistan, German NDR radio reported. Weapons belonging to a German shipment of 10,000 pistols intended for the Afghan police and army were reportedly being illegally traded.

Neither the German government nor the responsible US-led security team in Afghanistan had tracked the whereabouts of the guns after their delivery in 2006, NDR said. Arms dealers in the region told the radio station that hundreds of German weapons were for sale. The German guns reportedly carry additional prestige and command price tags of over 1,000 dollars (680 euros).

In Kabul, a barely used 50-year-old German gun was being offered for 1,600 dollars. Current and former Afghan soldiers and police officers were illegally selling the weapons, which were also being smuggled to regions including Pakistan's north-west border provinces and neighbouring tribal areas, NDR reported.

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