Two arms brokers arranged illegal deals to supply surface-to-air missile systems and fighter jets to countries including Libya and South Sudan in breach of international sanctions, British prosecutors told a London court on Tuesday.

British national David Greenhalgh, 68, and Greek national Christos Farmakis, 48, are on trial at Southwark Crown Court, charged with multiple offences relating to the unlicensed supply of arms between 2009 and 2016. Both have pleaded not guilty.

Prosecutor Edmund Burge told the court the defendants had “very close connections to senior figures” in South Sudan, with Farmakis allegedly serving as the country’s honorary consul to Greece and Cyprus.

The court heard the pair brokered a deal for a “complete air defense missile system” sourced from Ukraine, worth nearly $55 million, between 2009 and 2011. At the time, South Sudan was still part of Sudan and subject to a British arms embargo, Burge said.

Jurors were told the defendants allegedly discussed using a Ugandan end-user certificate as cover to conceal the true destination of the weapons.

Farmakis, who has chosen not to attend the trial, was arrested in 2016 after emails linked to his role at a government-funded organisation were found to contain private communications about arms deals.

According to the prosecution, those communications also referenced potential sales of fighter jets and other weapons to Libya following the 2011 Arab Spring.

The court was further told that emails and documents suggest the defendants may have explored supplying weapons to Iran, Iraq and Syria in violation of international arms embargoes.

The trial is due to continue and is expected to conclude in June.