Indonesia to probe arms smuggling claims against peacekeepers in Sudan

Jakarta: Indonesia will on Wednesday send a team to Sudan to investigate allegations that its peacekeepers stationed there with the United Nations tried to smuggle arms out of the country, officials said. 

Authorities in Sudan last week stopped 139 Indonesian police officers from flying out of the Darfur region after security scans found guns and ammunition in luggage believed to belong to them.

Indonesian police have denied their officers were trying to smuggle arms.

"What`s clear is the bags that contained the weapons did not belong to the Indonesian unit," police spokesman Boy Rafli Amar said in a text message. 

"An investigation is ongoing involving the U.N., Sudan authorities and Indonesian police," he said.

The Indonesian police officers were part of a United Nations-African Union Mission in Darfur and were due to return to Indonesia after completing a tour.