POLICE IN Malaysia said they had seized two containers possibly containing parts meant for producing weapons of mass destruction, including nuclear warheads, from a ship bound for Iran.
An investigator said the equipment might be for building sites but if misused could be used to make a nuclear device.
“We are liaising with our Interpol counterparts in both the source and destination countries,” Mohamad Bakri Zinin, chief of the federal police’s criminal investigation unit, told Malaysia’s Sun daily newspaper.
“We are viewing this find very seriously and we are unable to divulge details as we do not want to jeopardise our probe. I can only say that we are investigating and give us more time,” said Mr Mohamad Bakri.
He said investigators were still trying to determine the equipment’s specific destination.
The Malaysian-registered vessel, which had arrived from China , carried dismantled equipment parts that were listed among items subject to controlled and restricted sale by the UN Security Council and other international laws, the newspaper reported.
It said the captain and crew were questioned by police before being allowed to leave port with their vessel, while authorities impounded the two containers and their contents.
Last year Malaysia passed a strategic trade Bill banning involvement in any trade of restricted items, which provides for prison terms of at least five years and fines of millions of dollars for those illegally bringing in or exporting material that could be used to make weapons of mass destruction.
In April, premier Najib Razak said his country would strictly enforce this new law, which is aimed at curbing the trafficking of nuclear weapons components, after being linked to the illegal supply of sensitive technology to Iran and Libya.
The Malaysian government has denied involvement in the illegal 2008 export of nuclear weapons to Iran, although it confirmed the involvement of one of its nationals.
Also, a Sri Lankan businessman living in Malaysia was jailed in 2004 for allegedly supplying nuclear weapon components to Libya.