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Mark Thomas, Arms Dealer So, Mark and his team of dedicated moral probers decided to try and prod the arms industry’s underbelly to find out if they could order licensed guns for places that the UK wouldn’t normally sell to. They set up a front company with a phone, an email address and a fax machine and started prodding…They started in Switzerland with a firm called Brugger & Thomet, who are Heckler & Koch’s official Swiss agent. We’d heard that Switzerland’s system of export controls was weaker than European Union member states. At the time that we started our research, Switzerland had not joined the United Nations and was therefore outside even international regulations. We chose Algeria as a country which the UK would not usually sell arms to. With an appalling track record on human rights, Algeria has been recently supplied by the UK with military equipment but, in the words of the DTI, “nothing that really goes bang”. On the day Mark phoned Brugger & Thomet the Swiss tightened up their export controls. Brugger and Thomet could not do the deal. So we sat back and decided to phone the arms companies with Heckler & Koch licenses. We phoned Pakistan Ordnance Factories, MKEK in Turkey and Iranian Defence Industries Association, asking for a quote for 200 MP5 sub-machine guns. But this time we thought we’d choose a country where Britain REALLY shouldn’t sell arms to…like Zimbabwe. In February this year, Zimbabwe had a European Union embargo placed on it so that no arms could be sold to them from any EU state. In The Name Of God 
- Fax from MKEK, state owned Turkish defence manufactuer MKEK, the state owned defence manufacturer in Turkey, quoted us $850 per gun (including 2pcs. of magazine, carrying sling and plastic cleaning rod). They said that an “End User Certificate” is required and that the sale would “be subject to the approval of the Turkish Authorities”. Interestingly they also told us that some of the parts for their guns come from Heckler & Koch’s factory in Germany… 
"There are some very minor parts, for example plastic parts for the butt stock... we import the raw materials from Germany." Mark talks to MKEK, Turkey, 25 April 2002 POF, Pakistan Ordinance Factories, the state owned arms manufacturer in Pakistan offered to sell 200 MP5 sub-machine guns to Zimbabwe, at a mere $550 per gun. 
They said that “export is subject to issue of Export Permit from Ministry of Defence, Defence Production Division, Government of Pakistan, for which an End User Certificate (in original) will be required. The Iranian Defence Industries Organisation quoted a measely $300 per gun and basically said, put the money in a bank in Dubai and we’ll ship you the guns... 
- Fax Fax from the Iranian Defence Industriess Their rather interesting letterhead also promised that this quote for 200 9mm sub-machine guns was all "In The Name of God” fancy a job? Mark phoned Pakistan Ordnance Factories back about their quote and was offered the chance to meet a company representative in the Pakistani Embassy in London. At this meeting the POF representative confirmed that upgrades were available directly through them, something BAe Systems later denied and said “there is no right to automatic provision of upgrades”. Funny. The POF representative also gave Mark a catalogue. On page one of this catalogue were pictures of two types of Anti-Personnel mine! The next day, Mark spoke again to POF. They again offered to send the guns to Zimbabwe but asked Mark not to put too big a mark up on them as this just damaged everybody’s business. They said they hoped that the MP5’s would not be going to any rebel groups in Zimbabwe (there aren’t any – its just in a state of terror!), offered Mark a free fibreglass carrying case worth $82 for every order of over 1000 weapons and then said: 
"We’re looking for people who can promote our products, if you think you’ve got contacts and you think you’ll be strong [in Zimbabwe] we’d be pleased to give you an authorisation in the future. We can also work on a small percentage for you..." - Pakistan Ordinance Factories to Mark Thomas, 26 April 2002 Wow. So Mark has been offered the official POF dealership for Zimbabwe! Its been a bit of a weird week really… We needed to let POF know that we weren’t actually real arms dealers but were a bunch of cowboy journalists from London, so Mark phoned Pakistan Ordnance Factories back… ...from the back of a truck, outside the Pakistani Embassy in London. 
- outside the Pakistan Embassy Then, the day the show was going out, POF sent us a fax. They said that their fool proof export procedures ensure orders do not go to internationally sanctioned countries. All quotes for weapons clearly state that a Pakistani government export permit is required. They also assured us they do not sell mines and that the brochure we had been given was out of date... ...so we guess the POF Zimbabwe Dealership position is no longer open.
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