Media: AP
Byline: N/A
Date: 12 October 2006

Nine British soldiers have been charged with smuggling weapons out of Iraq
to trade for drugs and cash, the Ministry of Defense said Thursday.

The soldiers, all from the 3rd Battalion of The Yorkshire Regiment, will
appear at a hearing at Catterick Garrison on Nov. 30 to determine whether
there will be a court-martial.

The ministry declined to say whether the soldiers were accused of smuggling
British weapons or weapons seized from insurgents, or to give any other
details of the charges pending the court hearing.

Their unit, an armored infantry regiment, completed a tour of duty in Iraq
last year.

Can't souvineer off the battlefield any more boys. The Provos are cracking down everywhere.

They really started the clamp down during WW2, and as gun crimes have increased in the UK then they have tightened up on soldiers bringing back souvenirs. Although, if weapons captured were allocated to the regimental armoury so that they could be used and handled by the troops to allow them to understand these weapons then there has not been a problem.

That's a shame. Two of our family's prized heirlooms from my Grandpa are his pistol grip modified .45 smg, a japanese pistol and officer's samurai sword along with a machete made by the Filipino resistance made from the leaf spring of a truck.