Two brand-new Mercedes limousines acquired by North Korea in late 2018 were sent by an Italian shipping firm with prior connections to Pyongyang, the 2020 United Nations Panel of Expert (PoE) report released Friday shows.

The new report reveals the involvement of Italian individuals and companies, witting or not, during the early stages of the Mercedes’ procurement in Europe and through their overseas voyage to the DPRK.

Unlike prior North Korean luxury vehicle acquisitions, the PoE identified the cars’ Vehicle Identification Numbers (VIN), which, building off a C4ADS investigation on the same case, enabled forensic analysis of much of