Thursday, April 01, 2010

If you can smuggle a cow, you can surely smuggle...chicken

"Khalil, who has been involved in the illicit trade for almost a decade, said for years it was mostly weapons making the below-surface journey. He would earn about $300 per Kalashnikov he brought into Gaza. The Russian-made assault rifle was worth about $700 on the Egyptian side of the border, but could fetch double that in the conflict-embroiled, coastal territory. Similar mark-up on bullets and explosives made weapons smuggling very lucrative for North Sinai residents. “Now Gaza has enough weapons,” said Khalil. But explosives and arms still flow into the Strip along with dramatically increased quantities of other goods, keeping smugglers busy." (thanks Jamal)