In late February, a Serbian citizen was arrested in western Yemen while trying to smuggle a sniper rifle and other items into the Mocha area. A few days later, a British citizen stood in a Yemeni court accused of smuggling Yemeni antiquities.

Smuggling in Yemen is no longer limited to Yemenis or regional smugglers — non-Arab foreigners engage in it, too. In the last decade, smuggling has significantly risen along Yemen’s coast and across its borders.

Yemen is a maritime country, with a coastline extending 2,200 km (1,367 miles). But Yemen’s army is not a maritime army. It is a ground army that is based in the mountains and deserts, while Yemen’s naval force lacks the bare minimum in equipment and hardware.

The Midi district, located on the Red Sea coast in northwestern Yemen, extends for 100 km (62 miles), but the security forces there complain of a weakness in their ability and capacity to control the port. Official bodies also complain that large arms shipments are entering through the port for the benefit of armed movements, especially the Houthi movement, which the Yemeni government has repeatedly accused of getting weapons from Iran.