July 24, 1999
Web posted at: 5:31 PM EDT (2131 GMT)
LONDON (Reuters) -- British customs have
intercepted vital materials destined for
Pakistan's nuclear weapons programme,
according to a British Sunday newspaper.
Customs investigators seized up to 20 tonnes of key components which can
be used in the manufacture of atomic weapons, the Sunday Express said.
British Customs and Excise officials could not immediately be reached for
comment.
The cargo was tracked from the United States to Thamesport container
terminal on the Isle of Grain in Kent, southeastern England, the newspaper
said.
It was unloaded, inspected and confiscated before it could be transferred to
a ship bound for the Middle East.
Documents accompanying the shipment purported to show it was destined
for Dubai but the Sunday Express quoted intelligence sources as saying they
believed its ultimate destination was the Pakistani city of Lahore.
The sources were quoted as saying the shipment had been compiled from
different points within the United States.
The shipment coincided with a period of heightened tension between India
and Pakistan over the disputed territory of Kashmir. Both countries held
successful nuclear tests last year.
Customs officers seized the cargo because of suspicions it was intended for
military use and threfore required an export licence, the Sunday Express
said.
The paper quoted nuclear weapons experts as saying the material was of
such a high grade that it was much more likely to be used for military rather
than commerical purposes.
Three British-based Pakistanis were arrested last week in connection with
the shipment, which had been seized three weeks earlier, the Sunday
Express said. They were later released on bail without being charged.
At least part of the cargo contained high grade aluminium commonly used in
making nuclear weapons, the newspaper said.
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