The Keepers of the Persian Gate Read Online Free Page A

states. However, it was his alleged activities within the last ten years which really brought the Mechanic to the attention of Western governments. Since the 2000s, there was evidence to suggest that his customers included North Korea, Saddam Hussein’s Iraqi government, Iran and Syria. However, there was also evidence to suggest that he was selling to extremist Islamic terrorist organisations since 2000, including Al Qaeda and so-called emerging ‘Islamic State’ organisations.
    “We understand that his base of operations during this period was somewhere in Central Africa, probably in more than one location. Indeed, the intelligence which led us to believe the Mechanic was still alive came out of Central Africa,” explained Paddy.
    Following Paddy’s appointment to lead the investigation into the Mechanic, the SPO agreed to establish a multi-national task force to investigate the possibility that the target was still alive.
    “We expected this operation to take a considerable period of time. Starting in October 2010, I went about independently following up on leads, liaising with INTERPOL and Scotland Yard,” said Paddy.
    Paddy spent several weeks interviewing weapons inspectors, nuclear scientists and known arms dealers. The object was to draft a report which would provide an indication of the size and scope of the task which faced the SPO in tracking down the Mechanic.
    “We needed to gain an understanding of the sorts of circles in which the target would be operating. In my view, the only way to discover this was to move in those circles,” said Paddy. The SPO also needed to gain a better understanding of the supply chains. There were a number of free agents that operated in the field and set up the meetings. Their role, though lucrative, was arguably the riskiest.
    “We arranged four meetings in the first instance, in Paris, Bogota, Johannesburg and Macao. In most cases the SPO hired local actors to portray the buyers. For example, for the South Africa meeting, we literally hired a look-alike of Mohammed Omar Osman, the second in command of the Ogaden National Liberation Front in Somalia,” said Paddy. “Our persistence began to pay off, and we were certainly zeroing in on the Mechanic’s last known areas of operations - and those he had been dealing with.”
    A few months later, in what could only be described as a ‘fake Sheikh‘ operation, Paddy posed as a member of private security to meet with a known associate of the Mechanic in the Venetian Hotel in Macao, China.
    “The meeting took place on the pretext that the ‘Sheikh’ was planning to use WMD to overthrow the Hosni Mubarak regime. The revolution had already commenced by this stage, giving the meeting an air of legitimacy. Our actor posed as a senior general in the Egyptian Army who was seeking a method of killing Mubarak which would implicate Russian involvement. This would mimic the radiation poisoning that killed Alexander Litvinenko in London,” said Paddy.
    It was well known that Mubarak was propped up by the West. Given the power struggle which was unfolding, Russia might have been expected to do something bold. Indeed, a Russian backed high-profile coup in the Middle East would have been perfectly believable. Early 2011 also signalled a new round of negotiations of tariffs for the Suez Canal. China was known to be extremely outspoken about the tariffs, particularly given its recent interest in African natural resources. Therefore, there was plenty to implicate China in the coup as well and the location of the meeting seemed to fit the circumstances.
    “We rendezvoused with the Mechanic’s representative in the Bellini Lounge, just off the casino floor. The representative left us a note to go to a particular suite in the hotel. When we got to the room, we discovered that the person we were actually meeting was the Mechanic. We were all stunned, but we had to maintain our composure,” recalled Paddy.
    The local actor did an excellent