Often dubbed the 'insecurity' industry by its opponents, the military-industrial complex that arms the police and dictatorships, runs increasingly militarised detention centres and controls housing for migrants is a many-headed hydra. In the past few days, Nottingham has seen activists take on the beast in different ways. On the morning of the 26th, anti-militarists took to the streets of the Lenton Lane industrial estate to picket arms dealers, Hecker & Koch. In the previous night, militants sabotaged vehicles belonging to multinational 'security' company, G4S.

Newswire: G4S vehicle's sabotaged | Wet but successful picket against gun dealers H&K | Still Shutting Down H&K - recent news

Previous features: Campaign says no to G4S in Nottingham | Heckler & Koch armed Bahrain regime | Notts Arms Dealer Back in Spotlight | Shut Down H&K Goes to Church

On Wednesday morning, anti-arms trade activists picketed the Lenton Lane premises of international arms dealers, Hecker & Koch. The picket was timed to coincide with an event at the Trent Vineyard church, which is next door to the gun dealers. They were also responding to a recent documentary about the company's sale of arms to Bahrain, which may have been used to suppress the recent protests against the Bahraini regime.

According to their report, almost every car entering the Easter Park industrial estate stopped to take a leaflet or two from them and "most expressed shock and surprise at not knowing what was going on there and were clearly disturbed to find out."

In the early hours of the same day, a group calling themselves "Petty Vandals" sabotaged two G4S vehicles in South Nottingham. They slashed their tyres, stripped paint and snapped off the exhaust pipes in protest at the way the company "profit[s] from this prison world". In their communique they cited the company's contract to run accommodation for asylum seekers in the East Midlands, as part of the "society of control" whose goals are "too have the working class monitored, categorised and punished at all times".

"G4S are not the reason for this, they are merely a vehicle for capitalists to make their profit from. But they are a mercenary bunch of thugs who should be challenged at every front by those of us whose lives they wish to seize."