File 869/1904 Pt 3 'Arms traffic: Red Sea, Africa and Aden' [‎91r] (186/444)

Enclosure 4 in No. 1.
Memorandum of Statement made to Acting Commissioner Byatt on June 17, 1910.
ALL rifles come originally from Jibuti, and are brought by dhows to the
following places on the Arabian coast:—
. Eas Ara > Shugra, Balhaf, Erka, Mokalla. There is no settlement at Ras Ara;
riding camels await a dhow A term adopted by British officials to refer to local sailing vessels in the western Indian Ocean. s arrival and take the arms to Lahej. Erom there, as
required, arms are taken for sale into Aden; ammunition is carried in camel saddle-
bags, and iifl.es are concealed in loads of kurbL or of firewood. Any Arab wishing
to take rifles, &c., to Aden first obtains a “ pass ” from the Sultan’s clerk, enabling
him to enter Aden unhindered. In Aden rifles are hidden either on a small island
ofl Maala used only by fishing-boats, or else in the town of Maala itself. There is no
risk about the latter proceeding. I myself was formerly in the arms trade, and have
kept rifles in a house at Maala for three months, wrapped in a blanket. All this is
quite well known in Aden to every native, and the Somali police are, of course,
aware of it. There are four principal brokers in Aden, one a Mijjertein named Haji
Abdi Matan, Warbaneya, and three Warsangli. I do not know the names of tlie
latter, but if you wish I can go to Aden and get you full details, since I am known
there as an ex-gun-runner and am not suspected. The price of a rifle and fifty rounds
in Aden is 30 rupees Indian silver coin also widely used in the Persian Gulf. .
Three or four years ago I went to Jibuti to buy rifles. They will not sell directly
to Somalis, so one has to employ Arab or Lankali agents. I, disguised as an Arab,
went with some of these men to a large store in the town where the Erenchmen live—
I do not know the name of the store. They bought for me twenty rifles at
12|- dollars each with 100 rounds per rifle, and I paid them 1 rupee per rifle as
commission. Things still go on in the same way there. Erom Jibuti I went on an
Arab dhow A term adopted by British officials to refer to local sailing vessels in the western Indian Ocean. , which took clearance for Aden, direct to Bosaso, where I landed the rifles
for Sultan Osman Mahmud.
Practically every dhow A term adopted by British officials to refer to local sailing vessels in the western Indian Ocean. visiting this coast carries contraband. Rifles are hidden
behind the matting on the vessel’s sides, between skins, under the fire-box, or in the
furled sail. Ammunition generally in ghi-tins which are then re-soldered. These
tins for greater safety are sometimes dropped into the barrel of drinking water.
At the present time rifles go chiefly from Jibuti to Shugra, where any one can
buy them. The Sultan charges 5 rupees Indian silver coin also widely used in the Persian Gulf. export duty on every rifle. I do not
know whether he takes import duty as well. The price at Shugra of a rifle with
forty rounds is 30 rupees Indian silver coin also widely used in the Persian Gulf. plus 5 rupees Indian silver coin also widely used in the Persian Gulf. duty.
There are plenty of rifles to be had anywhere along the Arabian coast. The
first man who ever smuggled arms was a Mijjertein named Urbeta, who, fifteen years
ago, before the Mullah started, bought 250 rifles in Jibuti, and took them to Osman
Mahmud at Bosaso. He was later on arrested by the Italians at Massowah, and I do
not know whether he is still alive.
H. A. BYATT.
Berbera, June 17, 1910. *
* Stalks of the Holeus sorghina or millet.—H. A. B.