The Yemeni authorities seized on Saturday a large arms shipment coming from Turkey that was smuggled onboard a ship, the state-owned September 26 website reported.
“The authorities at the Aden port thwarted an attempt to smuggle large weapons from Turkey to the country,” the website quoted a security source in the port city of Aden as saying.
“The weapons were concealed inside biscuit boxes and the seizure occurred after the authorities suspected the shipment was not foodstuffs,” the source said.
“The shipment was large and suspicious. When the police checked it, weapons were found,” the source continued.
An investigation has been launched into the shipment, the website said, but there were not reports about the nationality of the smugglers or details about the destination of the weapons.
Yemen is struggling to cope with big challenges topped by security disorder that were deepened by the latest developments mainly the 2011 popular uprising against the former regime.
The official voiced concerns about attempts to smuggle weapons to inflame conflicts and insecurity in Yemen amid major efforts to restructure the armed forces which were divided because of the uprising.
Experts argue the division of the armed forces remains a key reasons for the security disorder in main cities including the capital Sanaa. They and the public have been calling to accelerate the restructuring of the armed forces.
The restructuring comes under a power-transfer deal which was brokered by the GCC and backed by the West after the unrest.