Investigator reveals China tried to smuggle drones to Libya disguised as COVID aid

China attempted to send $1 billion worth of drones disguised as COVID-19 aid to a Libyan warlord through the assistance of corrupt U.N. officials, according to a Canadian government investigator. 

New court documents accuse Chinese state officials of conspiring to hide the $1 billion deal to offer 42 drones to Libyan General Khalifa Haftar through U.N. officials, who would mark the arms shipments as COVID-19 aid. 

Through FBI intercepts, Canada’s Royal Mounted Police found alleged plots to sell Libyan oil to China and to buy drones from 2018 to 2021. 

“The Chinese government seems to have approved a strategy to aid Libya in the procurement and delivery of military equipment through designated and approved companies to obscure the direct involvement of government agencies,” the investigator stated.

Two Libyan nationals working in Canada at the International Civil Aviation Organization, a U.N. agency, were charged with conspiracy for the scheme in April. A preliminary hearing is expected in the spring.  

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The accusations, first reported by Defense News, are part of documents submitted in court in Montreal to obtain warrants to access the phones of the men involved. 

Libyan security forces stand guard in Tripoli, Libya, on Aug. 16, 2023. (AP Photo/Yousef Murad)

“This scheme appears to be a deliberate attempt to circumvent U.N. sanctions that were in effect at the time,” the report said. 

Haftar, who received the drones, is a Russia-backed strongman who controls eastern Libya. He unsuccessfully tried to seize control of western Libya in 2020. The aim of the drones’ shipment was “‘using war to end war quickly’ without attracting the attention of the international community,” said the investigator, adding “the fight against the Coronavirus” was used as cover. 

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One of the Libyan nationals involved in the scheme – Fathi Ben Ahmed Mhaouek – was arrested while the other, Mahmud Mohamed Elsuwaye Sayeh, is still at large. 

The Guard of Honor of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army performs a flag raising ceremony at Bayi Square to celebrate the 97th anniversary on China’s Army Day on Aug. 1, 2024 in Nanchang, Jiangxi Province of China. (Ma Yue/VCG via Getty Images)

The court documents also accuse a U.S. citizen, who has not been charged, of involvement.

“My client will plead not guilty – he denies all wrongdoing,” said Mhaouek’s lawyer in Canada, Andrew Barbacki.

Investigators uncovered a May 2020 message from Sayeh to an official at the Chinese ministry of foreign affairs requesting a meeting in Egypt between the Chinese ambassador and a Libyan military official close to Haftar, Major General Aoun Al-Ferjani.

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In the messages, the drones are “clearly described with weaponry, attack and lethal strike capabilities.”

Investigators are unsure if the deal went through or if talks failed. 

Italian authorities in July said they seized Chinese military drones that were headed for Benghazi, Libya, in violation of a U.N. embargo.