Battlefield Contractor

Lin Rui returned to the camp with a stack of documents. Crazy Horse knew at a glance that there was another task, and beckoned to let several other team members come.

Lin Rui put the materials on the table, "I have work to do, and this work is quite fat."

"I like it." Sergey sat down and turned over the information and looked at a photo and shook his head. "This guy is really ugly. But where did I see this guy. Is it an Arab?"

"Mukhtar Belmotar, born in Gadaya, Algeria in 1972, is the leader of the North African branch of Al-Qaida. He was nicknamed Mr. Marlboro due to mass smuggling of cigarettes. If I remember correctly, this guy seems to be on the wanted list "The Crazy Horse nodded.

"It's him. Over the years, Belmotar has been a small footnote in the intelligence analysis of the North African Al-Qaida organization. In January 2013, this man led the blood allied forces loyal to Al-Qaeda and launched an attack against Algeria. The Nas Gas Plant attack. In this attack, at least 38 people were killed.

In 2003, Belmotar planned the kidnapping of 32 European tourists and successfully demanded a huge ransom. This money provided him with the original capital for the development of a mature trading network throughout North Africa. He smuggled goods from the west coast of Africa to the city of Timbuktu in Mali via the 2,000-mile-long ancient salt road once used by the Tavac tribesmen, and then via Niger to the gate of southern Algeria, the Mediterranean Sea.

In the past, the Tavac tribes made profits by transporting salt, gold and silk. Belmotar established close ties with the tribe through intermarriage with several prominent families. In order to get rich, he adopted another method-smuggling cigarettes. That's why he was called Mr. Marlboro. "

"So what we have to deal with is a cigarette dealer?" Sergey frowned.

Lin Rui shook his head and said, "He is not an ordinary cigarette dealer. For a long time, the key role of cigarette smuggling in financing terrorists has been ignored. When Western intelligence agencies started investigating the different branches of Al Qaeda in North Africa, this It has aroused great interest from relevant parties.

According to American estimates, the total illicit tobacco trade in North Africa exceeds $1 billion. The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime estimates that Africans smoke 400 billion cigarettes each year, of which 60 billion are from the black market. According to statistics, the cigarettes consumed by Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, and Tunisia account for 44% of the total consumption of the African continent. In comparison, the tobacco black market in these five countries is relatively large. For example, 3/4 of the cigarettes consumed by Libyans are illegal cigarettes.

In order to exclusively enjoy the profits of the illegal cigarette trade, Belmotar and other branches of the Maghreb organization compete with each other and compete with the Tavac tribe, corrupt army and government officials. The movement to control the flow of counterfeit cigarettes into North Africa has triggered a war for sphere of influence. The profit is difficult to calculate. "

"If this is the case, this is definitely a way of making money." Sergey shook his head. "It's more profitable than us being a mercenary."

“Some of the cigarettes transported across North Africa are fakes produced in Vietnam, but most of them are genuine products with trademarks from the Middle East. They are transported through a complex network of intermediaries and companies from many countries. Most of these intermediaries and companies are located.” Offshore tax haven" activities. These cigarettes often enter West Africa through Ghana, Benin and Togo.

Another route is to enter West Africa through Guinea. According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, the supply of cigarettes in Guinea far exceeds its demand. These cigarettes that entered West Africa were then transferred to Mali via land and the Niger River. Via these routes, the risk of detection is small. Another distribution center is Mauritania, which is for Senegal, Morocco and Algeria.

In the above cases, Belmotar and Al-Qaida in the Maghreb have either imposed taxes on cigarettes passing through the ancient salt road or provided four-wheel drive vehicles, trucks, motorcycles, and even bicycles for transit cigarettes to facilitate these cigarettes. Transportation.

These smuggled goods are often not well-known brands such as Marlboro, but cheaper and less well-known products, and these products are what the international tobacco giants eagerly hope to introduce into developing countries. They hope to gain a foothold in developing countries in this way.

Inevitably, the regional smuggling of cigarettes in these countries has triggered a series of debates about the role of international tobacco giants, especially how much responsibility they should bear for the existence of these distribution lines. These lines are used by terrorist groups to fill their own cashboxes. Some of them are the most dangerous terrorist groups in the world and the most dangerous terrorists.

The profits provided by cigarette smuggling also fund other criminal activities, including illegal transportation of drugs, oil, and human trafficking. These activities often use the same distribution network as cigarette smuggling. However, cigarettes are still the most profitable and least risky smuggled goods. Few people think that cigarette smuggling is a serious matter, so law enforcement agencies rarely invest a lot of resources in tracking and cracking down. And these terrorists rely on this to make a lot of money.

In addition, he is also good at kidnapping activities and is the initiator of kidnapping activities carried out by violent terrorist organizations in North Africa. In recent years, this Mr. Marlboro has repeatedly escaped hunting operations in France and the United States, and is known as the person who cannot be caught. At the same time, Belmokhtar smuggled cigarettes in the Sahel, known locally as Mr. Marlboro. "

"It's bragging, can a terrorist who started by smuggling cigarettes escape the pursuit of the US army?" Sausage shook his head.

Lin Rui shook his head and said, "This is not bragging. He is said to be the most difficult terrorist leader in the area. The media had misreported his death many times before. The US military also thought that he was removed several times, but he was still alive. .

The most recent attack against him occurred on a farm in Ajdabiya, 160 kilometers west of Benghazi. Belmokhtar was in a meeting with the leaders of other extremist organizations. This mission was performed by American fighters. Although he claimed to have killed him, it was later discovered that only a few of his men were killed.

This person was born in Algeria in 72 years. In 1991, he went to Afghanistan to join the local jihadist organization and resisted the Soviet army in Afghanistan at that time. While in Afghanistan, he lost an eye. Later returned to Algeria, joined Al-Qaida in the Maghreb, and became one of the most prominent figures in the organization. In 12 years, the blood alliance was created, but it maintained contact with the high-level al Qaeda organization. He is a famous terrorist.

Because of its abundant funds, the organization has acquired equipment such as shoulder-mounted missiles, heavy guns, artillery, surface-to-air missiles, and anti-tank mines from Libya and other countries, and its combat effectiveness is not weak. Some scholars have calculated that since the organization was founded, the attacks and kidnappings have caused more than 2,000 casualties and caused at least tens of billions of dollars in economic losses. "

"It really is a big fish." Sergey nodded.