Complete nuclear bomb plant earmarked for Libya found in South Africa

[seemslikeadream]

By Douglas Frant and William Rempel
November 29, 2004

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Authorities hunting traffickers in nuclear weapons technology recently uncovered an audacious plan to deliver a complete uranium enrichment plant to Libya.

The discovery provides fresh evidence of the reach and sophistication of the Pakistani scientist Abdul Qadeer Khan's global black market in nuclear know-how and equipment. It also exposes a previously undetected South African branch of the Khan network.

Details of the plot began to emerge in September, when police found the elements of a two-storey steel processing system for the enrichment plant in a factory outside Johannesburg. They were packed in 11 freight containers for shipment to Libya.

South African officials will say only that they discovered nuclear components. It appears, however, that the massive system was designed to operate 1000 centrifuges for enriching uranium.

Once assembled in Libya, the plant could have produced enough weapons-grade uranium to manufacture several nuclear bombs a year. Delivery of the plant would have greatly accelerated Libya's efforts to develop nuclear weapons.

more
http://www.smh.com.au/news/World/Complete-nuclear-bomb-plant-found-in-South-Africa/2004/11/28/1101577355249.html?oneclick=true

[acmavm]

1. Whoa horsie, whoa! Libya is now on 'our' side, they don't want nasty

things like nuclear enrichment facilities and the like.

I heard bush* and the Poodle just talking about that a couple of months ago. Kadhaffi (sp?) has seen the like and come over from the Dark Side, not?

Don't you all remember before the election (right) about how well the plans for spreading democracy in the Middle East were going? How the murderous onslaught on the Iraqi populace was making everyone see the light except for them damn Iranians? Oh, and the Syrians too, of course.

<whatever, I'm way past the point of sarcasm anymore>

Oh yeah, I forgot about this part:

<snip>
Dr Khan, a German-trained metallurgist, used stolen designs and a shadowy network of European suppliers in the 1980s to enrich uranium for Pakistan's first atomic bomb. A decade later, he resurrected the network to sell nuclear technology on the world market.
<snip>

Who were the plans 'stolen' from and why is Khan only under house arrest as we type??????

[seemslikeadream]

2. South African businessman Johan Meyer leaves Vanderbijlpark court

South African businessman Johan Meyer leaves Vanderbijlpark court

Posted: 08 September 2004 2038 hrs

VANDERBIJLPARK, South Africa : A South African businessman with alleged links to a global nuclear smuggling ring was remanded in custody for further investigation after unexpectedly withdrawing his bail application.

Johan Meyer, 53, was arrested on Thursday last week and was charged a day later with three counts of possessing sensitive nuclear-related equipment and of illegally importing and exporting nuclear material.

"At this stage, the case will be postponed for further investigation," state prosecutor Chris MacAdam told the court.

"I have been informed (by Meyer's lawyers) that at this stage the bail application has been provisionally withdrawn."

more
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/afp_world/view/105606/1/.html

Charges dropped in WMD case
Posted Wed, 08 Sep 2004

In his first appearance the court was told that his bail application was withdrawn and he was later whisked away, supposedly to prison until his next appearance on October 11.

Meyer was arrested last week and 11 shipping containers containing components of a centrifuge uranium plant and related documentation were seized from his factory premises in the town's industrial zone.

He faced three charges under South Africa's Non-Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction Act and the Nuclear Energy Act as part of an international investigation which includes the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

A statement on Tuesday from South Africa's Council for the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons said the investigation was "in the context" of the AQ Khan "network"

Abdul Khan was a leading figure in Pakistan's nuclear weapons programme, and was involved in the final test detonation of Pakistan's first nuclear bomb.

Council chairperson Abdul Minty said the items confiscated did not "constitute a weapon of mass destruction, but they are essential components in the process to enrich uranium".
http://iafrica.com/news/sa/346152.htm


S. Africa seizes uranium enrichment materials
Tuesday, September 7, 2004 Posted: 2045 GMT (0445 HKT)

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa (Reuters) -- South Africa seized 11 shipping containers of uranium enrichment materials in a raid on a firm run by a man it has charged under laws forbidding nuclear proliferation, a government agency said on Tuesday.

The South African Council for the Non-Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction said the containers were now stored at a safe location and had been sealed by both South African police and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the two agencies would maintain control.

"IAEA inspectors will visit South Africa on a regular basis to inspect nuclear material and related equipment," the council said in a statement.

It was the first detailed description of the raid last week by police and other investigators on a small engineering firm that led to charges against 53-year-old Johan Andries Muller Meyer for manufacturing nuclear-related material and exporting goods that could be used to develop nuclear weapons.

more
http://edition.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/africa/09/07/security.safrica.reut/

S. Africa to brief UN on N-smuggling


PRETORIA, Sept 10: South Africa will next week brief the UN's nuclear watchdog agency about recent arrests in connection with an international nuclear smuggling ring with ties to Libya, a senior official said on Friday.

Abdul Minty, chairman of the Council for the Non-Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction, said the report to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) will be made as part of the board's review of Libya's efforts to develop nuclear weapons.

Two German men living permanently in South Africa were charged on Thursday by a South African court with illegally exporting equipment to enrich uranium, a week after a South African businessman was arrested on similar charges.

South African officials 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. -AFP
http://www.dawn.com/2004/09/11/top18.htm


South African Council for the Non-Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction

The allegations being investigated relate to the import and export of a controlled flow- forming lathe as well as the production and possession of certain components of a centrifuge enrichment plant without the necessary permits. These items do not constitute a weapon of mass destruction, but they are essential components in the process to enrich uranium. It is alleged that these activities were intended to assist in the now abandoned nuclear weapons programme of the Libyan Government.

Acting upon information obtained during the course of the investigation into the activities of some companies and individuals, who may have been involved in the alleged contravention of the relevant South African legislation, a search warrant was obtained to search the premises of Tradefin Engineering, situated in Vanderbijlpark.

On 1 September 2004 this facility was searched by members of the Office of the National Director of Public Prosecutions, the South African Police Services (SAPS) and inspectors as well as other South African technical advisors appointed in terms of the Non-Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction Act.

At the premises of Tradefin Engineering, 11 shipping containers were found containing components of a centrifuge uranium enrichment plant as well as related documentation. In terms of a warrant of arrest, Mr JAM Meyer, a Director at Tradefin Engineering was arrested on 2 September 2004. Mr Meyer was charged with contravening the Non-Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction Act by importing and exporting a flow-forming lathe without the necessary permits.
http://www.dfa.gov.za/docs/2004/weap0906.htm

S. Africa cuts deal with nuclear smuggler
Johan Meyer, 53, was arrested last week at his Tradefin Engineering company in Vanderbijlpark and charged with violating South Africa's weapons proliferation laws.

"He's squealing and willing to do a deal to tell us ... all we want to know," a senior South African official told the Times on condition of anonymity.

Meyer is believed to have been involved in a secretive South African government program to develop nuclear weapons, which was dismantled under international supervision in 1994.
more
http://washingtontimes.com/upi-breaking/20040909-014644-1929r.htm

Pakistan via South Africa.
South African police said in February Washington had asked for their help in investigating possible associates of Asher Karni, a former Israeli army officer accused by the U.S. government of conspiring to export 200 U.S.-made nuclear weapons detonators to Pakistan via South Africa.
http://www.reuters.co.uk/newsPackageArticle.jhtml?type=...

contravening the Non-Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction Act

Indications late yesterday were that Meyer had turned state witness and was providing information to investigators about people and companies that had allegedly been supplying and working for the nuclear black market
more
http://www.capetimes.co.za/index.php?fSectionId=271&fArticleId=2217944

WMD suspect arrested in Durban

September 09 2004 at 11:07AM
By Anil Singh and Sapa

Hours after the withdrawal of charges against Gauteng businessman Johan Meyer for contravening laws governing weapons of mass destruction and nuclear energy, Durban police swooped on a luxury penthouse on the beachfront and arrested a German-born engineer on similar charges.

The 65-year-old engineer is also facing similar charges in Germany and was arrested a forthnight ago.

'I expect my client to make a court appearance later in the day'
While Durban detectives were making the arrest on the beachfront, detectives arrested another suspect in Sandton.

Spokesperson for the police national commissioner Director Sally de Beer on Thursday confirmed the arrests.

De Beer said she had very few details as the arrests were made late on Thursday night. Police would not release any further information due to the sensitive nature of the investigations. "At this stage we cannot rule out further arrests," said De Beer.

more
http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=15&art_id=vn20040909101451312C767341

[Fovea]

3. Two new points on the Axis of evil...

Lessee.
Iraq, Iran, Syria, but not

Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, South Africa,
Libya, Israel, India, Turkey or any other of the
(often unstable) emerging Nuke powers whose names end with 'stan'...

Do you feel safer yet, red states?

[spotbird]

4. Nonsense, Libya is our friend.

They told the president that they were so afraid of us that they were going to halt all wmd production.

[nadinbrzezinski]

5. Yep they have checked mated our fearless leader

What can I say? Anybody shocked?

Oh and I was a bad girl, just sent all of this to my congress criter, topped it, don't expect to see this on the front page of the NYT

[seemslikeadream]

6. Raid shows long reach of nuclear smuggling

Among the questions confronting investigators are whether other countries sought Khan's help and whether tougher restrictions are necessary to prevent a repeat of what officials have called the most dangerous proliferation operation in history.

The processing system found at Tradefin, an engineering and manufacturing company in Vanderbijlpark, outside Johannesburg, had been designed and built over three years. It was tested, painstakingly dismantled and packed into 40-foot ocean-going containers, factory records show.

Khan, a German-trained metallurgist, used stolen designs and a shadowy network of European suppliers in the 1980s to build the Pakistani plant where uranium was enriched for that country's first atomic bomb.
http://www.indystar.com/articles/8/198064-2098-010.html

[daleo]

7. This seems suspicious to me - scaremongering perhaps

If this is true, I would say there is no doubt that Iran and North Korea already have plenty of functioning atomic bombs.

But it sounds more like scare-mongering. "Get your own Calvin and Hobbes back yard uranium reprocessing plant, and make enough enriched uranium for several bombs! Low down payment. Ships in 11 easy boxes. Be the first terrorist on your block with an A-bomb!"

Disclosure - I didn't feel like registering on the site, so all I am going on is this short clip.

[seemslikeadream]

8. Didn't you read post #2?

You can see the whole article by going to google news and type in headline

here's more

Dr Khan already had secretly shipped to Libya a supply of processed uranium fuel for the enrichment plant, international inspectors said.
An off-the-shelf enrichment facility was built for Libya because unlike other customers of the Khan network, such as Iran and North Korea, Libya lacked the technical expertise or manufacturing base to build the complex facilities necessary.

Some of the centrifuges for the plant were shipped separately from Malaysia, because the specialised steel needed was not available in South Africa. The interception of that cargo by US and Italian authorities in October 2003 led to the Johannesburg raid and spurred Libya's leader, Muammar Gaddafi, to renounce efforts to develop banned weapons.

In the September 1 raid, police found a video that detailed the workings of Dr Khan's top-secret government enrichment laboratory in Pakistan, plus trunks filled with designs from the lab. The discovery of a South African connection to Dr Khan's web has led to four arrests, including some people who had been involved in the country's former nuclear program.

...

Daniel Jacobus Van Beek, director of South Africa's counter-proliferation office, described the scheme as "one of the most serious and extensive attempts" to breach international nuclear controls. He estimated that the 200 tonnes of equipment was worth about $US33 million ($44.2 million).

Dr Khan, a German-trained metallurgist, used stolen designs and a shadowy network of European suppliers in the 1980s to enrich uranium for Pakistan's first atomic bomb. A decade later, he resurrected the network to sell nuclear technology on the world market.


...

Both have long associations with the company Krisch Engineering, which imported equipment for South Africa's nuclear program in the 1980s in violation of international sanctions, according to a sworn affidavit from Van Beek.

Los Angeles Times

[daleo]

9. I guess it just makes it seem too easy to build an atom bomb

I acknowledge that there has been some proliferation and Dr. Khan has been a central figure, certainly in Pakistan's bomb and perhaps in selling know-how to other states. Do you conclude, then, that North Korea and Iran must already have nuclear weapons? Because if these stories as presented are true, it seems likely that is the case.

By the way, I am not denigrating your research - I have gained a lot of insight from your posts over the years. I will review the other articles again after getting some sleep.

[seemslikeadream]

12. I didn't mean to be short with you daleo

It's just that I've been following this since the first arrests were made. Seems real to me. Abdul Qadeer Khan did alot of damage. I don't know about Iran and North Korea.

...
If this planet blows to pieces this year, thank Khan Labs' and Bush

You may never have heard of Khan Laboratories, but if this planet blows to pieces this year, it will be thanks to Khan Labs' creating nuclear warheads for Pakistan's military. Because investigators had been tracking the funding for this so-called "Islamic Bomb" back to Saudi Arabia, under Bush security restrictions, the inquiry was stymied. (The restrictions were lifted, the agent told me without a hint of dark humor, on September 11.)

Noam Chomsky, who read the story on page one of the Times of India, has wondered, "Why wasn't it all over US papers?

.. A top-level CIA operative who spoke with us on condition of strictest anonymity said that, after Bush took office, "There was a major policy shift" at the National Security Agency. Investigators were ordered to "back off" from any inquiries into Saudi Arabian financing of terror networks, especially if they touched on Saudi royals and their retainers. That put the Bin Ladens, a family worth a reported $12 billion and a virtual arm of the Saudi royal household, off limits for investigation.

I probed our CIA contact for specifics of investigations that were hampered by orders to back off of the Saudis. He told us that Khan Laboratories investigation had been effectively put on hold.

more
http://www.gregpalast.com/detail.cfm?artid=312&row=0

BCCI and Pakistani Nuclear Hero
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=104&topic_id=1080836


New Branch Found in Nuclear Network
South African affiliates of a Pakistani scientist's proliferation ring tried to outfit Libya with an off-the-shelf uranium enrichment plant.

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa — Authorities pursuing traffickers in nuclear weapons technology recently uncovered an audacious scheme to deliver a complete uranium enrichment plant to Libya, documents and interviews show.

The discovery provides fresh evidence of the reach and sophistication of Pakistani scientist Abdul Qadeer Khan's global black market in nuclear know-how and equipment. It also exposes a previously undetected South African branch of the Khan network.

The startling dimensions of the plot began to emerge in September, when police raided a factory outside Johannesburg. They found the elements of a two-story steel processing system for the enrichment plant, packed in 11 freight containers for shipment to Libya.

South African officials have disclosed only that they discovered nuclear components. The Times has learned that the massive system was designed to operate an array of 1,000 centrifuges for enriching uranium.
more
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-adfg-network28nov28,0,7255320.story?coll=la-home-headlines

:hi:

[daleo]

13. No problem

I think I am just suffering from Bush related media skepticism, which I sometimes take too far. I have to watch my tendency to knee-jerk cynicism.

[LynnTheDem]

10. What a coinkydink! OIL was recently found in SA, too! And al Qaeda!

Amazing.

[fishface]

11. So do you think maybe Kaddaffy Duck was...like...errrr....LYING

to his new found good buddy the Smirk and we're NOT really 'safer' because of him??

Gee....I for one am SHOCKED I tell you!!! (snicker)