Iraq Black Market: $5 Billion
Smuggling organization in Iraq makes about $5 million from smuggling oil
According to a report in The Guardian, a smuggling organization in Iraq is estimated to make about $5 million a week from smuggling oil.
Source: Ghaith Abdul-Ahad, “Oiling the wheels of war: Smuggling becomes the real economy of Iraq,” Guardian, June 9, 2007.
40 to 50 percent of profits ends up with insurgents in Iraq
40 to 50 percent of the profits from fuel smuggling is believed to end up in the hands of insurgents.
Source: Robert F. Worth and James Glanz, ” Oil Graft Fuels the Insurgency, Iraq and U.S. Say,” New York Times, February 5, 2006.
$4 billion worth of gas smuggled out of Iraq in 2005
Source: Associated Press, ” U.S. Troops Crack Down on Fuel Smuggling.” Yahoo! News, May 9, 2006.
Prices of AK-47 in Iraq increased after war began
In Iraq, the prices of small arms have increased since the U.S. invasion. According to a report by the New York Times, Kalashnikovs were priced between $75 to $150 in early 2003. By late 2006, the prices increased to the range of $210 to $650. In some areas of Iraq, the price has increased to [...]
AK-47 bullet in Iraq costs between $0.15 to $0.45
Source: “Bullets ‘flooding Baghdad market’,”BBC News, June 15, 2006.
Rocket propelled grenade launcher available for $100 in Iraq
Grenades cost an extra $50 each.
Source: Ahmed Rasheed and Ross Colvin, ” Iraqi police selling weapons on black market,” Reuters, February 5, 2007.
Arms black market in Iraq during US Occupation
The Center for Defense Information (CDI) has reported on the thriving black market that has existed throughout the U.S. occupation. In a December 2006 report, the CDI stated that “weapons originally supplied by the U.S. and its allies to the Iraqi police have been showing up on the streets and on the black market, likely [...]
