‘File 41/2 Arms traffic’ [99r] (197/222)
The record is made up of 1 file (109 folios). It was created in 1 Dec 1945-1 Nov 1947. It was written in English and Arabic. The original is part of the British Library: India Office The department of the British Government to which the Government of India reported between 1858 and 1947. The successor to the Court of Directors. Records and Private Papers Documents collected in a private capacity. .
Transcription
This transcription is created automatically. It may contain errors.
I ATO * I H b l $ / P' ft. ! (Tp^y^-B^C-^SL .
1 . P.A. may please see pages 193 and 195 seq. of F.9/11
(below).
2. In 1944 P.A.B. received many complaints from P.R. and
P.A.M. of the use of the T.C. as a centre of arms traffic.
P.A.B. replied that while there undoubtedly was smuggling of
arms there were mostly ^of old rifles, and few in number, vide
p.202 and 207 ibid. There seems little doubt however that fairly
large quantities of arms and ammunition were reaching T.C. fron>
East Africa and the raiding of R.A.F. dumps was another source
of supply to the arms smugglers.
3. Bahrain was held responsible for some of this arms
smuggling but the real centre of this traffic was Dubai,
Sharjah, Khor Fakkan and the Batinah Coast, vide p.238 ibid.
. 4 . in 1945 there seems to have been.a diminution of this
traffic. On T.C. only two thefts of arms and ammunition were
reported during 1945. An American carbine was stolen in Oct.
from U.S.A.T.C. Camp at Sharjah by bedouins of the Beni Qitab,
(reported at para.137 of T.C. News No.19), but was recovered
with the assistance of the Shaikh and the culprits apprehended,
and 2,500 rounds of S.A.A. were stolen in Nov. from the R.A.F.
Camp at Sharjah, the culprits being identified by a tracker as
R.A.F. Levies. No further details have yet been reported.
►
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1
5 .
6.
7.
In Qatar smuggling of arms and other commodities is
organised by the Darwish brothers, vide s.14 and 17 of F.l/A/5,
and recent references to their activities are at s.80, 85, and
s.6 of this file.
s.90 of F.l/A/5 names Bahrain as the headquarters of
one of the 4 arms smugglers mentioned but the only activity
that has come to notice this year is the theft of l # 8OO0rounds
of S.A.A. from Jidda Island, vide F.41/3 below. We have still
to reply to P.R.'s X.L. at s.10 on this file.
Fewer cases of arms traffic were brought to light this
year than last year. R.A.F. dumps were more carefully guarded
and supplies from East Africa were not forthcoming in as large
quantities as before. The many requests for arms and ammuni
tions we have received from the T.C. Sheikhs also seem to bear
out the supposition that there is little arms or ammunition to
be had there. The Persian Government, however, are still
anxious about the smuggling of arms into Persia and we have
recently been asked by P.R. to induce the Sheikhs to adopt a
system of arms licences for the arms carried by dhows in their
voyages about the Gulf. The Bahrain Government see no objection
to such a system and we are addressing other Sheikhs asking
them to adopt the system.
i it
P.A.
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23.12.‘45.
1
About this item
- Content
The file comprises correspondence in response to various reports of arms smuggling in around the Arabian Peninsula. The principal correspondents in the file are the Political Agent A mid-ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Agency. at Bahrain (Lieutenant-Colonel Arnold Crawshaw Galloway), the Political Officer on the Trucial Coast A name used by Britain from the nineteenth century to 1971 to refer to the present-day United Arab Emirates. (Captain Raymond Clive Murphy; Captain Hugh Dunstan Rance), the Residency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, established in the provinces and regions considered part of, or under the influence of, British India. Agent at Sharjah (Jasim ibn Muhammad Kadmari), and the British Consular Agent at Lingah (sometimes spelt Lingeh) [Bandar-e Lengeh], D J Stephens.
The file includes correspondence concerning:
- reports of arms and ammunition smuggling from Dubai into the Iranian coast, including several reports from the British Consular Agent at Lingah (for example, ff 15, f 17, and f 23), which were forwarded to the Political Agent A mid-ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Agency. at Bahrain, and in turn onwards to the Political Officer on the Trucial Coast A name used by Britain from the nineteenth century to 1971 to refer to the present-day United Arab Emirates. or the Residency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, established in the provinces and regions considered part of, or under the influence of, British India. Agency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, headed by an agent. at Sharjah who reported their investigations into the accuracy of the claims back to the Political Agent A mid-ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Agency. ;
- the theft in October 1944 of ammunition from stores at RAF Sharjah, the implication of the RAF Levies in the theft, and the status of RAF investigations and courts martial (ff 6-25);
- reports of large quantities of SAA (small arms ammunition) dumped by the Royal Air Force (RAF) in shallow waters at Ras al Hadd, and subsequently recovered by the local population and sold to local sheikhs (ff 29-30);
- British officials’ efforts in 1946 to track the movements of a vessel carrying arms from Mukalla [Al-Mukallā] to Dubai via Muscat (ff 52-57 and ff 61-64);
- an allegation of arms dealing between the Āl Thānī of Qatar and the Āl Mana of Bahrain, in correspondence exchanged between the Political Agent A mid-ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Agency. at Bahrain and the Adviser to the Government of Bahrain (Charles Dalrymple-Belgrave) (ff 65-69);
- the theft of Government rifles from the British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) Station Manager’s office at Sharjah, in early 1947 (ff 79-80 and f 82);
- a compensation claim from a nakhuda who was commissioned to transport ammunition for the Royal Navy during the war, and who was subsequently robbed of his cargo and possessions (ff 85-88 and ff 93-97);
- Extent and format
- 1 file (109 folios)
- Arrangement
The file’s contents are arranged in approximate chronological order, from the earliest item at the front to the latest at the end. The file notes at the end of the file (ff 99-110) mirror the chronological arrangement.
- Physical characteristics
Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1 and terminates at the back cover with 111; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto The front of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'r'. side of each folio. An additional foliation sequence is also present in parallel between ff 1-110; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled, and are located in the same position as the main sequence.
- Written in
- English and Arabic in Latin and Arabic script View the complete information for this record
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‘File 41/2 Arms traffic’ [99r] (197/222), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/R/15/2/897, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100025608599.0x0000c6> [accessed 29 March 2024]
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Copyright: How to use this content
- Reference
- IOR/R/15/2/897
- Title
- ‘File 41/2 Arms traffic’
- Pages
- front, front-i, 2r:49v, 51r:64v, 66r:66v, 69r:72v, 74r:84v, 86r:93v, 95r:110v, back-i, back
- Author
- East India Company, the Board of Control, the India Office, or other British Government Department
- Usage terms
- Open Government Licence