Jordanian Intelligence Stole US and Saudi Arms On Regular Basis: Report

Jordanian intelligence operatives allegedly stole the weapons shipped into Jordan by the Central Intelligence Agency and Saudi Arabia for Syrian rebels’ use and sold to arms merchants on the black market, the New York Times reported.

According to a joint investigation by the New York Times and Al Jazeera, an arms theft scheme revealed that Jordanian intelligence service (the General Intelligence Directorate/GID) officers used to smuggle weapons provided by the US and Saudi Arabia for Syrian rebels trained on Jordanian soil.

Some of the stolen weapons were used in a shooting in November that killed two Americans and three others at a police training facility in Amman, according to the report. The FBI investigation into the shooting included weapon numbers tracking, which led to the revelation of the whole scheme.

The weapons used in the shooting had originally arrived in Jordan for the Syrian rebel training program, the paper reported, citing American and Jordanian officials.

CIA had set up the training facility on the outskirts of the capital, Amman, after the 2003 US invasion of Iraq to help rebuild the shattered country's postwar security forces and to train Palestinian Authority police officers.

Theft of the weapons, which ended months ago after complaints by the American and Saudi governments, has led to a flood of new weapons available on the arms black market, the New York Times said.

Jordanian officers who were part of the plan "reaped a windfall" from sale of weapons, using the money to buy iPhones, SUVs and other luxury items, according to the paper, which cited Jordanian officials.