SA, UN in joint nuke probe

2004-09-15 14:26

Vienna - South Africa is working closely with the UN atomic agency to help it uncover international smuggling in nuclear weapons-related materials, a senior South African official said on Wednesday.

"We will co-operate with the (International Atomic Energy Agency) in every way," said Abdul Samad Minty, head of the South African Council for the Non-Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction.

IAEA chief Mohamed ElBaradei said on Tuesday a South African investigation into a businessman arrested for illegally trading in nuclear material was helping shed light on nuclear programmes in Iran and Libya.

ElBaradei told reporters his agency was getting "a lot of information that could have an impact on our understanding of both the Iranian programme and the Libyan programme."

The IAEA sent investigators earlier this month to South Africa after businessman, Johan Meyer, 53, was charged with three counts of being in possession of sensitive nuclear-related equipment and of illegally importing and exporting nuclear material.

Meyer has since been released and charges dropped against him. There has been speculation he has been co-operating with South African authorities.

Two German men living permanently in South Africa were charged last week by a South African court with illegally exporting equipment to enrich uranium.

Minty said the arrests were part of a probe into ties with a nuclear smuggling network thought to be linked to Pakistani scientist Abdul Qadeer Khan who admitted in February to helping Libya and other nations develop their weapons programme.

Gerhard Wisser, 66, and Daniel Geiges, 65, living permanently in South Africa, appeared before a local court on four counts of contravening the Nuclear Energy Act and a law banning the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.

Minty said they were allegedly involved in the "import and export of a controlled flow-forming lathe as well as the production and possession of certain components associated with a centrifuge enrichment plant without the necessary authorisation."

He said "these activities were intended to assist in the now abandoned nuclear weapons program of the Libyan government."

He said police had in searches found 11 shipping containers at one company, containing components associated with a centrifuge uranium enrichment plant. He refused to say exactly what sort of equipment was found.

Minty said the police had also found "documents" during the investigation but he once again refused to provide details.

Khan sold nuclear material to North Korea, Libya and Iran through a network that involved about 20 countries.

Libya agreed last December to disband its programmes to make weapons of mass destruction, and has since been co-operating with the IAEA.

Information from Libya has helped IAEA investigators understand more about Iran's nuclear programme and its acquisition of sensitive atomic materials abroad.

Now information from South Africa is taking the IAEA further in understanding the illegal smuggling network.

"In general when police do investigations, they interrogate people in ways the IAEA can't. That information gets shared with us," a Western diplomat close to the IAEA told AFP.

He said this information enabled the IAEA to "pursue international links, people who are part of this web."

Another diplomat said that front companies which people use to make black market acquisitions change frequently "but the people do not",

- AFP