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news
ABC weapons components shipped through
Malta
By
David Lindsay
An Austrian intelligence official has revealed that Maltese companies
may be unwittingly playing a transshipment role for components used
in the assembly of atomic, biological and chemical (ABC) weapons.
The statement, made by a knowledgeable Austrian intelligence source
speaking to Austria’s ‘Der Standard’, reaffirms Malta’s
allure as a hub for lucrative underground activities. Most are now
familiar with Malta’s role in human trafficking after it came
into the spotlight recently. Meanwhile, two weeks ago German authorities
revealed that a 500kg shipment of cocaine had been intercepted en
route to Malta. Allegations of money laundering activities and even
heavy equipment smuggling have also cropped up intermittently.
This latest allegation is untimely given current international tensions,
but it should be noted that any Maltese company participating in
the trade may very well be unaware of the potential of the goods
they are dealing in, or that they might be ending up in the wrong
hands.
In fact,
most of the components in question can be used in both the civil
and military field. Accordingly, the fact that these so-called
dual-use goods can have diverse applications renders investigations
difficult to carry out.
These dual
use wares include spare parts for water treatment plants, vacuum
smelters, copper compressors, ignition mixtures and - in certain
specifications – pumps and spare machine parts.
While the
dealing of such goods may appear innocuous enough, ‘Der Standard’
reports that investigations have identified many roundabout deliveries
that have been made through intermediary firms in both Malta and
Cyprus.
It adds that
in several cases firms that were involved in illegally transmitting
components used for ABC weapons technology had already attracted
attention in this respect and are now being monitored by the security
authorities. However, it is not known whether the local authorities
are involved in the monitoring.
According
to Austrian intelligence authorities, Austria is one of the key
transit countries in the underground trade and its security apparatus
has been stepping up controls to uncover and stop the illegal
transfer of such goods. Last year they carried out a total of
1,100 checks in this regard.
Countries
such as Libya, Syria, Iraq, North Korea, India and Pakistan are
all known to have secret weapons programmes underway and are more
interested in purchasing components for assembly than in the hard-to-procure
finished products. Malta's possible role is clearly not in the
production of ABC weapons or their components, but rather through
the participation of Maltese firms in the trade.
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