Erik Prince On Trial In Austria For Arms Trafficking

The Associated Press reports:

Five people including the founder of the Blackwater security firm went on trial in Austria on Thursday, accused of exporting two crop-spraying aircraft that were allegedly refitted for military purposes without required permits. Prosecutors say that two Ayres Thrush agricultural aircraft were equipped with armor, extra tanks and a special camera that could be used for marking and illuminating targets.

They say one was sent to Malta in 2014 with Kenya as its declared destination and landed in troubled South Sudan, while the other was sent to Bulgaria in 2015. The defendants are accused of violating Austria’s law on war material by exporting such equipment without permission. They are Blackwater founder Erik Prince, two managers at Airborne Technologies and a trained pilot who allegedly was an adviser.

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