FedEx under criminal investigation in Belgium – but not Ireland – after Ditch investigation

FedEx – which has repeatedly flown munitions through Irish territory illegally – is under criminal investigation after The Ditch, in partnership with Belgian media, reported it illegally transported F-35 fighter jet parts to Israel through Liège Airport last month.

Meanwhile off-the-record “Irish officials” in the Irish Times in March were “conscious of the reaction of the Trump administration to any efforts to inspect Israel-bound flights originating in the United States”. An on-the-record transport minister Darragh O’Brien in the Journal last month said allegations of illegal weapons flights “are investigated”. He said he takes the issue “very seriously”. 

The Ditch reported yesterday that garda commissioner Drew Harris misled an Oireachtas committee about his knowledge of FedEx illegally using Irish airspace to transport munitions to Israel – when both he personally and An Garda Síochána were repeatedly warned about these flights.  

Belgian prosecutors began their probe after FedEx claimed the components – included on the US munitions list – might’ve been “inadvertently” brought through Liège after arriving from Memphis International Airport in the US.

Criminal complaint, criminal investigation

A joint investigation by The Ditch, De Morgen and Le Soir revealed FedEx transported F-35 combat jet parts through Liège Airport without appropriate licences. 

Belgian anti-war movement Vredesactie last week submitted a criminal complaint against FedEx to the Belgian authorities.

FedEx claimed in a statement issued to Le Soir that “due to the geopolitical situation in the Middle East”, some International Traffic in Arms Regulations goods might have “inadvertently transited through Liège”. 

More than two dozen F-35 packages arrived in Liège from Cologne Bonn Airport after the Israel-Iran conflict led to the temporary suspension of cargo flights to Tel Aviv from the German airport. 

The Ditch first reported in October last year that FedEx was illegally transporting F-35 components for the Israel Defense Forces through Irish airspace. 

These flights are subject of a Department of Transport examination into the nine airlines illegally transporting Israeli munitions of war through Irish territory, which The Ditch has exposed over the past ten months. 

The department won’t share the report – neither with the public nor other government departments.