A report from "Tele Yemen," the main telecommunications and internet provider in Yemen, revealed the involvement of the security and intelligence apparatus of the Houthi militia in smuggling international calls through a secret station established by the militia to monitor calls and redirect the revenues directly to the militia's account. The report, which reached the Minister of Communications and Information Technology in the insurgents' government, confirmed that the Houthi intelligence apparatus earned approximately twenty-eight million dollars from smuggled call revenues within just two months.
According to sources from "Al Arabiya/Al Hadath," discussions took place between the committee responsible for preparing the report and Major General Abdul Hakim Al-Khaywani, known as Abu Al-Karar, the head of the intelligence apparatus, who justified the creation of the smuggling station as a way to relieve pressure on the telecommunications company. This incident is not the first of its kind, as the militia has a history of similar actions.
Last year, they installed surveillance devices in telecommunications companies under their control to spy on leaders in the legitimate government, opponents of the group, and suspected loyalists. Sources from a telecommunications company affiliated with the militia confirmed that the Houthis recently connected the public telecommunications system to the security and intelligence apparatus by orders from the insurgent leader Abdul Malik Al-Houthi. They also added new systems to the network specifically for surveillance, operated under the supervision of a Lebanese engineer affiliated with Hezbollah.
Since their invasion of the capital Sana'a in September 2014, the Houthi militia has exploited state resources and institutions, particularly the Ministry of Communications and security agencies, to impose monitoring and surveillance on their opponents and dissenters and to conduct arrests, kidnappings, and enforced disappearances based on surveillance of phone calls and messages of citizens. The telecommunications sector has also faced organized looting and theft of its assets by the militia, resulting in the bankruptcy of some companies, while others are struggling with significant financial difficulties that may lead them to bankruptcy. The telecommunications sector constitutes one of the main financial resources for the Houthi militia, which they use to finance their war against the Yemeni people.
