The Most Notorious Arms Dealers Of History

The world is not at war but fighting has been raging in different parts of the globe. The numerous wars that are currently ongoing have rekindled a demand for guns, ammunition weaponry of other types. Purchasing weapons is not an easy task unless countries have contacts with the most notorious arms dealers of history.

The people mentioned within this discussion are shady characters who are willing to travel the world for trafficking and distributing arms in exchange for hard cash and staying a step ahead of their business rivals and the authorities. Here are some of the most notorious arms dealers that are reputed to have the ability to possibly procure anything that is demanded.

[su_quote cite=”Terry Hayes” class=”cust-pagination”]“The interior of the arms dealer’s private jet was so ugly it hurt my feelings as well as my eyeballs.”[/su_quote]

Adnan Khashoggi

Adnan Khashoggi is a businessman from Saudi Arabia who is extremely successful. He also is a prominent arms dealer and is regarded as one of the richest men in the world from during the 80s. He was educated in the United States and began his career in arms trading during the 60s by brokering deals between his country of origin and US companies.

The most famous client of Khashoggi was Lockheed Martin from whom he is reputed to have taken $106 million in commissions. His financial dealings were always covered by setting up front companies in Switzerland and he was also involved in the Iran-Contra deal. Khashoggi was detained in 1988 only to be acquitted a couple of years later. He is currently a resident of Monaco and his services are apparently available on occasion.

Dale Stoffel

Dale was an arms dealer who was involved in the reconstruction efforts of Iraq after the war. He had the image of a mercenary and was usually chomping a cigar while slinging a machine gun over his back. Dale met his end while traveling to Baghdad in 2004 but before his death, he had obtained one of the first contracts issued by the newly established Ministry of Defense for Iraq and his contracts with the Iraqi government were in the region of $40 million.

He was also an outspoken critic of the payment methods of the Iraqis for his efforts and made allegations that corruption was rampant. Dale was owed $24.7 million before his end and his widow Barbara sued the Iraqi government for 25 million in 2009.

Dr. Moosa Bin Shamsher

Dr. Moosa does not belong to the medical fraternity but is a business tycoon from Bangladesh who established his reputation as an arms dealer during the 70s and the 80s. He has been nicknamed Prince Moosa by the South Asian press and is acknowledged for his dealings with some of the top arms dealers throughout the world.

He specializes in the dealings of fighter planes, ballistic missiles, and tanks. Dr. Moosa is also a jet-setting character and owns a fleet of 100 cars which includes Rolls-Royce models apart from wearing diamond-encrusted shoes.

Samuel Cummings

Samuel Cummings is the founder of international armament Corporation and an arms dealer who has monopolized the global market for private arms sales. Cummings passed away in 1998 at the age of 71 but was an arms dealer that began his business during the 50s and the 60s by purchasing huge quantities of World War II weaponry. He is reputed to have had dealings with a number of international leaders including Fidel Castro of Cuba who purchased a consignment of AR 10 rifles from Sarkis.

Sarkis Soghanalian

Sarkis was nicknamed the merchant of death and was a Florida-based arms to who died recently on October 5, 2011. He established himself during the Cold War to become the leading arms merchant during that time. He was also notorious for being the leading dealer of weapons during the 80s to Saddam Hussain of Iraq. He was also selling arms to Iraq during the Iran-Iraq war with the full knowledge and the backing of the CIA. He is reputed to have been involved during the Civil War in Lebanon along with Ecuador and Nicaragua along with Argentina during the Falklands war.

These are and were some of the most notorious arms dealers of history. They were shady characters and were always hunted by different governments. However, despite these handicaps, these characters managed to lead jet set lives to become the envy of many others.