FARC Arms Traffickers Arrested in Montenegro

Police in Podgorica on Thursday confirmed the arrest of three international arms traffickers suspected of conspiring to sell large weaponry to FARC rebels in Colombia, a movement designated as a terrorist organization.

The two Romanians, Cristian Vintila, 44, and Virgil Flaviu Georgescu, 42, and an Italian, Massimo Romagnoli, 43, were arrested on Monday and Tuesday.

The three have been charged with terrorism offences in the State of New York. If extradited to the United States, put on trial and convicted, they would life sentences.

All three, who are now in custody in Podgorica, were charged in New York with conspiracy to kill Americans and provide "material support to a terrorist organization".

The men allegedly conspired to sell pistols, machine guns and anti-aircraft cannons between May and October, "knowing they could be used by the FARC against US personnel".

The head of the National Bureau of Interpol Podgorica, Dejan Djurovic, said Montenegrin police collaborated with the Romanian police as well as the US authorities in the operation.

FARC has an estimated 8,000 fighters and is the largest guerrilla group in Latin America. It has been locked in conflict with the Colombian government for five decades.