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WMD suspect remains in custody
03/09/2004 12:19 - (SA)
Vanderbijlpark - A director a Vanderbijlpark engineering company arrested on allegations of contravening laws governing the manufacture of weapons of mass destruction will remain in custody until his bail application next Wednesday.
Johan Andries Muller Meyer, dressed in a dark blue suit, said nothing during his brief appearance in the Vanderbijlpark Regional Court on Friday, and was led back to the holding cells immediately afterwards.
His attorney Heinrich Badenhorst said Meyer was alleged to have been manufacturing the weapons at his engineering works.
Badenhorst said he had no further details of the case but "at this stage we deny it."
According to a statement released by the South African Council for the Non-Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction, the arrest was made as part of an investigation under the Non-Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction Act and the Nuclear Energy Act.
The council also said they had seized items allegedly used in the "contraventions".
During the investigation, South Africa authorities had co-operated with their counterparts in other countries as well as the International Atomic Energy Agency, the council said.
News reports said Meyer was believed to be facilitating the sales of nuclear devices, apparently to Pakistan.
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