You have commented 339 times on Rantburg.

Your Name
Your e-mail (optional)
Website (optional)
My Original Nic        Pic-a-Nic        Sorry. Comments have been closed on this article.
Bold Italic Underline Strike Bullet Blockquote Small Big Link Squish Foto Photo
Submit your comments on this article
Europe
Second arrest in German Libyan nuclear probe
2004-11-16
Federal investigators in Germany announced on Tuesday the arrest of a second Swiss national as part of a continuing investigation into smuggling of nuclear technology to Libya. Federal Prosecutor-General Kay Nehm said the suspect, identified only as a 61-year-old Swiss businessman, was arrested on Saturday. From AP: The engineer, identified as Gotthard L., was arrested Nov. 13 by Swiss police in the canton of St. Gallen on suspicion that he helped in develop a gas centrifuge to enrich uranium for use in atomic weapons for a payoff worth $4 million to $5 million Cdn, prosecutors' spokeswoman Frauke Scheuten said in a statement. His full identity was not released, but the name of a German living in Switzerland, Gotthard Lerch, has previously emerged through investigations by the International Atomic Energy Agency.
Last month a 39-year-old Swiss national was arrested in Germany accused of helping Libya's nuclear programme.
AP: Last month, German authorities arrested Swiss engineer Urs Tinner, 39, on allegations he was also a member of the ring.
Prosecutors allege both men helped Libya develop and build gas ultra-centrifuges used for the enrichment of uranium and the production of nuclear weapons. Investigators say the suspect was part of an international illegal supply network supplying centrifuge technology and operating mainly out of Dubai. A statement from prosecuting authorities in Karlsruhe said a Sri Lankan national, Buhary Seyed Abu Tahir, acted as middleman between the supply network and the country of purchase.
We ain't heard from B.S.A. Tahir in a while.
The accused received from Tahir the task of supervising the production of more than 2,000 centrifugal parts at a Malaysian firm and of instructing Libyan personnel in their use.
This would have been Tinner.
The parts were shipped to Dubai, reloaded onto a German freighter under a false declaration and sent on their way to Libya. However the ship was stopped at the port of Taranto in Italy in October last year and the freight was seized on the orders of German authorities. Prosecutors said the arrests are in connection with their investigations of others, including a 65-year-old German national living in South Africa, in connection with illegal supplies to Libya.
AP: In August, German authorities arrested Gerhard Wisser, whom they described at the time as the main suspect in the case. He was released on bail but re-arrested in South Africa in September. Swiss authorities raided the home of Gotthard L. at the same time but did not arrest him, saying his alleged role in the network was still being examined.
Libya stopped its gas ultra-centrifuge programme in December 2003. In March it signed an additional protocol to the nuclear Non- Proliferation Treaty allowing inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency to carry out snap checks on all its nuclear facilities.
Posted by:Steve

00:00