UNITED NATIONS, July 14 (Xinhua) -- The diversion of small arms and light weapons is a major source of firearms for criminals and insurgents around the world, according to a new survey issued Monday.

    In its 2008 edition of an annual report, the Geneva-based Small Arms Survey said that diverted arms shipments - in which arms are redirected to unauthorized end users - can rang from small packages of components for civilian firearms to hundred-ton shipments of military-grade light weapons.

    The redirection can occur at any moment in the transfer chain and may involve the participation of corrupt government officials, the reports said.

    Since 1987, major documented diversions have provided small arms to Afghan non-state groups, Colombian rebels as well as their paramilitary opponents, and unknown - but like criminal or insurgent - end users in Sri Lanka and Iraq, as well as embargoed regimes such as Somalia and Liberia, it said.

    "Diversion is particularly dangerous because it can channel large volumes of weapons to individuals and groups intent on victimizing civilians," said Keith Krause, program director of the independent research project.

    "We know the risk factors for diversion, the typical scenarios, as well as the methods that can stop much of this activity from occurring," he said.

    "In fact, preventing diversion is an area where states can have a significant impact for relatively little investment," he added.

    The Small Arms Survey is an independent research project located at the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva, Switzerland.