 The Zoios ' clandestine transaction with Turp initially progressed well , but fell apart in March 1966 , when Turp discovered he would actually be arming Rhodesia rather than Pakistan , reacted with alarm and informed the British government . The British Board of Trade tightened its control over arms transactions , and encouraged its NATO counterparts to do the same , while the Zoios turned their attention to Belgian , Italian and West German arms dealers . In October 1966 , a huge consignment of army and air force equipment arrived in Rhodesia from the seaports of Mozambique , with many of the containers bearing metropolitan Portuguese markings . Prominent among the European weapons were FN FAL battle rifles from Belgium , which allowed an unofficial Rhodesian trade delegation to operate quietly in spite of the sanctions . 
