Prince Andrew tied to gun smuggler

LONDON, Nov. 23 (UPI) -- Prince Andrew spent four days in Tunisia with his friend Tarek Kaituni, who has a gun-smuggling conviction, a spokeswoman for the British royal confirms.

The unidentified spokeswoman said while Andrew did enjoy the hospitality of Kaituni during his stay last week, the royal family member intends to pay back the Libyan native for his hospitality, The Sunday Times of London reported.

"The duke is reimbursing him (Kaituni) and we just do it sort of privately because the duke is not carrying a whole lot of money with him," she said.

Kaituni was convicted in 2005 of attempting to illegally transport a machine gun from Holland to France.

Andrew's spokeswoman said the prince's personal visit with his friend came before the royal was to travel to Libya to meet with Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi.

"The trip to Tunisia was a holiday. It's a private visit to Libya but the meeting with Gadhafi was through official channels and was with the knowledge of the Foreign Office and U.K. Trade & Investment," she told The Times.