LAST UPDATE | 19 Jul 2023

SINCE THE WAR started in Ukraine, downed Russian military hardware such as armed drones have been discovered with Irish and other western country components, despite strict sanctions on exports to the Putin regime. 

In December last year, The Journal learned that parts on a Russian drone captured by Ukraine had been manufactured by an Irish company.

In recent weeks, another report has surfaced on social media that a part from another Irish company was found inside a downed Russian drone. 

The discovery of western parts in technology being deployed by Russia in this war has been a source of concern internationally since the conflict began. The Iranian drones being used are of particular interest given that country has been under sanctions for several years.

Security sources have said that the discoveries of Irish parts related to Iranian manufactured drones. 

In the last 48 hours the city of Odessa in the south west of Ukraine came under fire from the weapons but the rest of the country, including Kyiv, has also suffered bombardments by the explosive drones along with cruise missiles.

Sources have said that security officials suspect a trade in counterfeit goods but the more likely scenario is that international wholesalers have stocks of the products and they are then being exploited by black marketers finding a way to breach the sanctions regime targeting Iran and Russia. 

Arms smugglers and mafia

It is suspected that arms dealers are not the only people involved, with mafia organisations also involved in the manufacture of counterfeit goods.

But sources have said that a web of arms dealers, smugglers and otherwise legitimate wholesale companies in various countries, are continuing to ship genuine components to Russia.

There are also suspicions that some international companies, outside of Ireland, have used their global connections to usurp the sanctions regime. 

A lot of the componentry is involved in computer systems for guidance equipment, not just in drones, but in Russian missiles and ordnance. 

A joint report earlier this year by independent NGOs the International Partnership for Human Rights The Independent Anti-Corruption Commission (NAKO) entitled Enabling War Crimes examined how the components were ending up in weaponry used to bomb civilian areas.

Their enquiries found that  components from multiple companies from the US, Netherlands, Switzerland, Germany and Taiwan were found in missiles – components included circuits, microprocessors, switches, memory, and oscillators.

This report found that one of the routes into Russia is via Turkey and another route in is via Hong Kong, the smugglers running the operations acting as go betweens facilitating the transport of the components into Russia and Iran. 

This is further confirmed by The Journal’s security sources.

While international intelligence agencies are attempting to bring an end to the trade, security sources said it is so vast and diverse that it is nigh on impossible to halt. 

Sources have said that there is a black market business not just in tech but in commodities such as oil and even luxury cars. 

Russia is not the only location being exploited by the arms and component smugglers – sources have said that there is similar smuggling of arms into Libya with Turkish organised crime figures involved. There are also large scale smuggling operations into North Korea where it is understood Iranian ships have been suspected of breaking sanctions blockades. 

The Irish Navy is currently deployed on Operation Irini to combat the illegal shipments into north Africa.

In Kyiv today, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar confirmed that the Government was aware of Made in Ireland stamps on components allegedly found in Russian weaponry in Ukraine. 

“We are aware of that, and we are investigating it at the moment,” the Taoiseach said.

“We don’t believe any Irish companies have evaded sanctions, but there are third parties that find ways around the sanctions, and it’s really important that we crack down on that and we do take it very seriously.”

In December one of the Irish companies, Taoglas, confirmed that circuitry it manufactured was found in a drone. In a statement the company said that the issue was that wholesalers on the international market had sold on the tech.

One of the products it manufactures operates circuitry and antennas for drones – it was this component that was found. 

Its CEO and c0-founder Dermot O’Shea said in December that the component was part of millions of units of manufactured and shipped parts.

O’Shea said the part in question, CGGP.18, “is a broad market antenna with millions of annual shipments since 2011″. He also noted that the logo is an older style from 2018 and earlier.

He said his company ensures “the utmost due diligence” with customers and distributors with the company ending business with Russian companies in February 2022. 

O’Shea said the company was aware its components were found in a drone.

“It is unlikely that they bought direct from listed distribution channels, making it nearly impossible to identify the recipient of the item. Business comes down to transparency and integrity and it is unfortunate that policies and products are not being respected in full,” the statement read. 

O’Shea is originally from Ireland but is now based in the US. He and his wife Ciara are the cofounders of UnityforUkraine.net “which helped source protective equipment for Ukrainian civilians at the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022″.

In a further statement tonight Taoglas claimed that as the emblems on the componentry were older than those used now that they could date from 2014. 

The company also said that the components are not military-grade and were designed for the automotive sector and also for devices “such as pet trackers and lawn mowers”.

“These are inexpensive, basic antenna components that are single-digit dollar items and not fully functioning until built into an antenna system,” the statement added.  

In a statement provided to The Journal, the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment said that “Ireland implements a robust export control policy, which includes the application of the relevant EU and international standards for export control.

“Any breach of export controls is taken very seriously and the potential use of Irish components in Iranian drones used by the Russian Federation in Ukraine is being investigated, by the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment.

“The Department is also actively working with Conflict Armament Research, which is funded by the EU, to ensure, insofar as possible, that Irish components do not end up, either intentionally or unintentionally, in conflict zones around the world.”