US holds SA man for nuke parts
2004-01-14 08:33
Cape Town - A Cape Town businessman has been arrested in the US on suspicion of smuggling parts for nuclear weapons out of America to Asia.
US federal authorities arrested Asher Karni, 50, of Sea Point, Cape Town, when he and his wife landed at Denver international airport. The couple were on their way to a Colorado ski resort.
Karni, who immigrated to South Africa from Israel in 1995, runs his own Cape Town-based company called Top Cape Technology.
He is being charged with attempting to purchase 400 high-speed electronic switches in the USA and for trying to export them to Pakistan via South Africa.
The switches can be used to ignite a nuclear missile.
May not be sold to Pakistan
Even though these switches can also be used in hospitals to dissolve kidney stones, they may not be sold to certain countries, including Pakistan, without specific permits.
US media reported that Karni used a New Jersey firm, Giza Technologies, to order 200 of the switches from the manufacturers, Perkin Elmer Opto-electronics in Massachusetts.
Top Cape Technologies' website advertises itself as a distributor of electronic products for commercial and military purposes.
Documents accompanying the order indicated the switches were meant for a hospital in South Africa.
A statement by the US government said Perkin Elmer sent Karmi a fax in June last year informing him that the switches may not be exported to Pakistan.
A couple at a time
The company said hospitals using the device never bought more than a couple of the switches at a time.
Despite the warning, Karni allegedly exported the components to Pakistan, which has been embroiled in a controversial nuclear production campaign for the past couple of years.
An anonymous source apparently forwarded a copy of Karni's e-mail about the transaction to American authorities.
The Cape Town suspect appeared in the Denver regional court on Monday and was granted bail of R522 000 ($75 000).
Jeff Dorscher, speaking for the US attorney-general, said Karni would be held in custody until Thursday to allow the state to appeal against his bail.
He said Karni would soon be transferred to Washington where his case would be heard.