Libyan soldiers previously trained by an Irish security company in apparent breach of international sanctions were discovered at an alleged illegal training camp in South Africa last month.
Irish Training Solutions (ITS), which was founded by former members of the Army Ranger Wing, Ireland’s elite special forces unit, has been training troops loyal to Libyan warlord Khalifa Haftar.
Earlier this year, The Irish Times published an investigation detailing how ITS trained a special forces unit of the Russian-backed general’s Libyan National Army (LNA) in an apparent contravention of European Union and United Nations arms embargoes on the country.
ITS claims it never had a contract with Haftar and that it has been training personnel for the state-owned Libyan National Oil Corporation to provide security services.
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The activity was condemned by Tánaiste Micheál Martin and referred to gardaí for investigation to determine if a criminal offence had been committed.
The Irish Times has established this investigation is ongoing and is being led by members of the Garda Special Detective Unit (SDU) which deals with matters of national security.
Detectives are working to determine if the supply of military training by an Irish company contrary to international sanctions breaches Irish criminal law.
Haftar and his sons Khaled and Saddam have hired several international security organisations to train their troops as they struggle for control of the north African nation.
Last month, authorities in South Africa dismantled a secret military training camp for Libyan troops in the town of Mpumalanga. Ninety-five Libyan nationals were arrested at the camp, which authorities said had no permission to operate as a military training facility.
A number of the arrested men had previously undergone special forces training in Libya provided by ITS, according to a source with knowledge of the Irish company’s operations who reviewed photographs of the detained men.
It is understood the men were sent to South Africa by the LNA to undergo military training provided by a South African-based company.
South African authorities have been trying to establish if ITS played a role in the training camp. However, nothing has emerged to suggest the Irish company was involved.
Lawyers representing ITS said the company had “no knowledge of or connection with any persons, trained by our client” working in South Africa. They said it also had no knowledge of the Garda SDU inquiry and said any suggestion the company “has committed any criminal offence is false, untrue, defamatory and is denied”.
The Libyans entered South Africa last April on visas allowing them to undergo security guard training. In July, police and intelligence officers raided a secret camp in the town of Mpumalanga where they found the men, along with military equipment and drugs.
The men were detained on charges of mispresenting themselves to secure entry visas. These charges were dropped earlier this week and all 95 men have now been deported back to Libya.
ITS was brought in specifically by Haftar’s forces to train members of the LNA’s 166th Infantry Brigade into a special forces group at facilities in Libya.
Members of the notorious Russian mercenary organisation the Wagner Group have also been involved in training Haftar’s forces in Libya alongside ITS.
ITS, which is based in Clara, Co Offaly, is run by directors Danny Cluskey (58), Darren Kelly (40) and Nigel McCormack (49), who are former members of the Defence Forces with strong links in the Irish and international security industry.
The revelations of their involvement in Libya prompted an internal Defence Forces investigation and a warning to serving troops against undertaking mercenary work.
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