Video- One of the most dangerous cells involved in weapons and drug smuggling for the Houthis busted

The military media in the Joint Yemeni Forces published on Wednesday a video recording that included confessions from one of the most dangerous arms smuggling cells from Iran to the Houthis, through the ports of Hodeidah (western Yemen) under the control of the militia.

The smuggling cell consists of six members, all of whom are from the province of Hodeida, and they have direct connections to the leadership of the Houthis, which have used the three ports under their control, Hodeida, Ras Isa, and Salif Ports for such operations.

The first element (Ibrahim Raziq) confessed to his involvement in smuggling an Iranian weapons shipment from off the coast of Al-Mahra to the shores of Somalia, where another cell received it and transported it to Hodeidah.

Razik stated that the militia tasked him and others with transporting a second shipment from the same location and in the same manner. However, they failed to reach it due to interception by the coast guard off the coast of Al Mahrah before they were released and returned to their country.

He also admitted that he moved again to the city of Hodeidah in coordination with the Houthi militia, and participated with a group in transporting a drug shipment from the port of Salif to Sudan. Upon his return to his hometown in Khokha, he was arrested.

While Hayel Jaleel (the second element) admitted his involvement in smuggling oil derivatives to the Houthis from Somalia to the city of Hodeidah, he was later assigned, along with the other four individuals, to smuggle weapons from the shores of Somalia to Hodeidah as well.

He said that he used a boat owned by a person named Ezz Eldin Mohammed Abdo Qasem Al-Najjar, in partnership with a Houthi leader named Taher Khater, who is the main responsible for the boat and its activities, for the weapons smuggling operation.

Jaleel revealed his brother involvement in smuggling a shipment of weapons from the Iranian port of Bandar Abbas with a group of others, in exchange for receiving a sum of SAR28,000. However, the Houthis breached the agreement and only gave him SAR8,000.

The confessions of the members of the cell involved in two unsuccessful attempts to smuggle weapons from the shores of Somalia, where they arrived and another cell took care of smuggling the shipments to Hodeidah.

As their confessions indicated, they were assigned for the third time to smuggle a shipment directly from the Iranian port of Bandar Abbas. However, the coast guard in the Red Sea intercepted them and they were arrested.

This comes in the context of widespread smuggling operations from Iran, including shipments of weapons and drugs to its proxies in Yemen.

The US Coast Guard, operating in the Fifth Fleet area, seized an Iranian weapons shipment on a boat in the Arabian Sea in late January. The shipment was intended to be smuggled to the Houthi militia.