Yemen Cuts Jail Terms for Albanian Arms Smugglers

A Yemeni court on Tuesday reduced from six years to three the sentences of two Albanian sailors convicted earlier this year of arms trafficking, the official Saba news agency said.

A third Albanian was acquitted for lack of proof by the court in Mukalla, capital of Hadramawt province, where the three were sentenced in February for smuggling arms and explosives into the country.

The three were arrested in December as they smuggled 179.5 tonnes of arms and ammunition aboard a ship in Mukalla harbor.

The defendants said they had put in at Mukalla for refueling.

The Kenya and Moldova-flagged ship had arrived from Montenegro.