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The Abu Dhabi Federal Court of Appeal concluded a high-profile case involving an international arms trafficking and money laundering network on October 29 2026 with life imprisonment terms for eight defendants. The judgment also included confiscation of more than Dh1.5 million in cash along with seized ammunition mobile phones and communications equipment used in the offenses. Convicted individuals will face deportation from the UAE upon completion of their sentences according to a report from the Emirates News Agency.
Those receiving life terms were Rashid Omar Abdul Qadir Ali, Salah Abdullah Mohammed Mohammed Saleh known as Salah Gosh, Ahmed Abdullah known as Abdullah Khalafallah, Ahmed Rabie Sayed Ahmed, Mohammed Fath Al Beik, Yasser Abdulrahman Al Atta, Othman Al Zubair and Maher Abdul Jalil. Al Atta serves as assistant to the commander-in-chief of the Sudanese Armed Forces and holds responsibility for armament while Gosh is a former Sudanese intelligence chief. The court treated the arms deals forgery and use of falsified documents as elements of a single criminal enterprise according to the Emirates News Agency.
Several of the life-term defendants along with Othman Babiker Khalid Yousuf Mukhtar and Ahmed Khalafallah Abdullah additionally received three-year prison sentences and fines of Dh1 million each on the money laundering charges. Six companies including Rashed Omar Brokerage Portex Trade Limited and others were each fined Dh1 million had their licenses revoked and faced asset seizures in connection with the laundering offenses. The total amount confiscated reached Dh1.545 million the judgment established.
Investigations showed the network operated through commercial companies bank transfers and cash payments to conceal the origins and destinations of funds used to supply weapons ammunition and military equipment to the Sudanese army. The deals occurred amid Sudan’s ongoing armed conflict and involved misrepresenting cargo as humanitarian aid or medical supplies for air transport to Port Sudan airport. A private aircraft and millions of rounds of ammunition formed part of the intercepted operation the court found.
The judgment established that Yasser Al Atta requested the purchase of the weapons and military equipment and took steps to secure a landing permit at Port Sudan airport while knowing the transaction had been arranged on UAE territory. Coordination of the activities was attributed to Othman Mohammed Al Zubair Mohammed with involvement from other defendants in directing the illicit procurement. The case highlighted how commercial fronts and financial channels were used to bypass licensing requirements for military materiel.
The verdict concludes a prosecution referred to the State Security Court in April 2026 by UAE Attorney-General Hamad Saif Al Shamsi after probes uncovered the 13-defendant and six-company network. A UN Independent International Fact-Finding Mission for Sudan reported on October 28 2026 that external transfers of weapons military technology and foreign fighters continue to intensify the conflict which began in April 2023 between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces. The mission called for stronger enforcement of arms embargoes to curb such flows across the region.
