Poland Prepares 'Trident' Plan to Combat Illegal Arms Trafficking from Ukraine

MOSCOW, May 4. /TASS/. Poland is preparing to address the risk of large-scale illegal arms trafficking from Ukraine once the fighting ends, Adam Radon, head of the organized crime division at the Central Investigation Bureau of the Polish Police, told the newspaper Rzeczpospolita. "There is a huge quantity of weapons in Ukraine that were provided as part of aid packages, in addition to a significant amount of Soviet-era weaponry. When armed conflicts end, there is always a risk of an uncontrolled influx of weapons," the police official said. In this regard, Polish law enforcement agencies are preparing a special plan codenamed Trident. "The Trident project is designed to train police officers to detect such smuggling and dismantle organized criminal groups involved in these activities," Radon explained. The project includes the purchase of specialized equipment worth 6.6 million zlotys ($1.8 million), as well as cooperation with border guards and the relevant authorities of several countries, including the Czech Republic, Lithuania, Ukraine, Moldova, and Spain, he added. According to him, Poland should act as a filter preventing these weapons from entering Europe. "Given the experience gained following the end of hostilities in Europe and on other continents, we are taking very seriously the possibility of an influx of illegal firearms and ammunition from Ukraine into neighboring countries and the rest of the EU," Radon stressed. He suggested that one of the key risks is that Ukrainian military personnel could become involved in criminal activity after their likely demobilization once the conflict with Russia ends. According to the police spokesman, there has not yet been any noticeable influx of weapons from Ukraine into Poland. However, he noted that police have already discovered caches of Ukrainian weapons, although the sources of their import have not yet been identified.