Ukrainian FORT-19 Pistols Smuggled to Iraq as Bicycles
About a month ago, Iraqi police seized over one thousand Ukrainian Fort-19 pistols that were smuggled into the country. Reportedly, the documents accompanying the cargo and the markings on the boxes were stating that the articles inside the container are bicycles. The seizure took place in Umm Qasr, a port city in southern Iraq.
As you can see in the images, the pistols look to be brand new in the cases with a spare magazine and cleaning accessories. It is unclear whether the guns shipped from Ukraine and if Iraq was the final destination or there was a more complicated smuggling scheme involved.
Fort-19 is manufactured by the Ukrainian state corporation FORT. Here is a brief description of the company quoted from their website:
Science Industrial Association “FORT” of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine is a modern enterprise of military and industrial complex of Ukraine, which produces small arms, special equipment and ammunition. Currently at its production facilities established license output of several types of small arms and it takes active measures aimed at creation of infrastructure for development and production of ammunition on an production scale.
Fort-19 is a polymer framed, hammer fired semi-automatic pistol chambered in 9x19mm. Below you can find the tech specs of the pistol:
Technical characteristics
At this point, there are no more details concerning this seizure and it’s even hard to evaluate the credibility of the available scarce information. We’ll be following this story and will keep our readers updated about any details that may be revealed in the future. Stay tuned!
Managing Editor Being a lifelong firearms enthusiast, Hrachya always enjoys studying the history and design of guns and ammunition. Should you need to contact him, feel free to shoot him a message at Hrachya@TheFirearmBlog.com
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trim that dudes mustache a bit more, I'd think they were in Germany showing off a new shipment for Hitler's troops
I predict Classic Firearms will have that shipment for sale in about 6 months