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archive: U.K. customs seizes N-material bound for Pak

U.K. customs seizes N-material bound for Pak

PTI
The Times of India
July 26, 1999


    Title: U.K. customs seizes N-material bound for Pak
    Author: PTI
    Publication: The Times of India
    Date: July 26, 1999 
    
    In a major swoop, British customs officials have intercepted and
    seized 20 tonnes of key components, vital for making missile casings
    and nuclear warheads, bound for Pakistan.
    
    The shipment, tracked from U.S. to Kent in the United Kingdom last
    week coincided with a period of heightened tension between India and
    Pakistan sparked off by intrusion of Pakistani troops into Kargil.
    
    The Sunday Express said quoting experts that the shipment was part of
    Pakistan's massive clandestine efforts to beef up its nuclear arsenal
    for any confrontation with India.
    
    The cargo was confiscated by British customs at Thames port on the
    Isle of Grain in Kent, before it could be transferred to a ship bound
    for West Asia, the paper said.
    
    Documents accompanying the cargo were purported to show it was
    destined for Dubai but British and American intelligences sources said
    it's ultimate destination was Pakistan, the paper said.
    
    Intelligence sources said the material was compiled from different
    points within the U.S. Three people, all U.K.-based Pakistani
    nationals, were arrested in this connection several weeks ago but
    later released without any charges.
    
    British customs, who got the seized material verified by experts, said
    last night it was unclear whether the cargo included any fissile
    material such as enriched uranium or plutonium, but said part of it
    included high-grade aluminium used in making nuclear weapons.
    
    The paper said officers from the national investigation service had
    arrested three persons in connection with the clandestine nuclear
    cargo.  All the three, believed to be linked to a West London
    import-export company which arranged the shipment papers, were
    released after questioning.
    
    The Sunday Express quoted experts to say that the aluminium found in
    the shipment was vital for making missile casings and was used as a
    component in solid state propellant fuel because of its high tensile
    strength.  Besides, it was essential in making centrifuges used to
    enrich uranium for nuclear warheads.
    
    The paper said American intelligence sources, which had been
    monitoring the passage of the material, tipped off the British
    intelligence agency which organised the raids in the Kent container
    warehouse.
    
    Customs officials said they seized the cargo because of suspicions
    that it was intended for military use and therefore required an export
    licence.  Britain in the wake of nuclear tests by India and Pakistan
    has invoked sanctions for a ban on export of any nuclear material to
    the two countries.
    
    The British paper said the suspicions of the customs officials had
    been reinforced by experts who said the material was of such a high
    grade that it was more likely to be used in military applications than
    for commercial purposes.
    
    The newspaper quoted an American nuclear expert to state, "High-grade
    aluminium can be seriously useful in uranium enrichment programmes and
    for making nuclear missiles."
    



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