History and Biodata |
The Afghan Interior Ministry announced the arrest of the British citizen Dan Fijord. Police found the Briton in possession of 129 weapons as well as 148 communication devices without proper documents.Afghan authorities ordered the immediate shutdown of Fijord’s private security firm Garda World Security, and are holding the British man for further investigation as to illegal arms transport.(20140109)
Afghanistan's interior ministry said 20120105 it would dissolve the Canadian - British GardaWorld Private Security Company (20120105) whose employees were detained in Kabul with 30 unregistered AK-47 assault rifles. The detained suspects, two Britons and two Afghans, were unable to provide documentation for the ammunition and weapons, and most of the guns had their serial numbers removed, ministry spokesman Sediq Sediqqi told a news conference. "Kabul police will be calling on the head of this company very soon and they have to pay all the dues they owe to the Afghan government and they cannot operate after that," he said.
The men's employer, security firm Garda World, said it only had the 30 rifles on a temporary loan to test them, because they were looking to purchase new guns for Afghan employees. "We are not the owners of the guns and we firmly believe we will be exonerated," an official from the firm who asked not to be identified told Reuters. "We have always cooperated with the Afghan authorities and will continue to do so."
Background GardaWorld in Afghanistan:
The Interior Ministry said that the company had contracts to work in Kabul, Herat, Kandahar and two other cities, and that GardaWorld was one of 46 security companies licensed to operate in Afghanistan until March 2012.
The Interior Ministry said that the contractors, two Britons, who were detained on 20120103 after being found with an arsenal of unlicensed AK-47 assault rifles in their sport utility vehicle, were among the 341 Afghan guards and 35 foreign contractors employed by GardaWorld in Afghanistan.
GardaWorld Profile Afghanistan Previous Jobs:
Client: Non-profit, non-governmental organization
Requirements: Support the safe and peaceful management of the 2005 National Assembly Elections in Afghanistan by
providing logistical support and closely coordinating with election leadership in order to facilitate mission requirements
throughout Afghanistan.
The GardaWorld Solution:
- Secured relationships with key members of the local population to mitigate risks
- Provided 24/7 crisis response capabilities, daily security assessments, and the implementation of incident response
and management plans
- Planned and secured election locations across 26 provinces
- Conducted threat assessments in conjunction with recommended route selection for convoys and the promotion of the electoral process |