Iran stays mum on CMA CGM arms shipment till probe done

THE Iranian embassy in Nigeria said it would not comment on the discovery of 13 containers of arms and ammunition from Iran until a state inquiry has concluded.

The 13 containers, filled with rockets and grenades, were described on the bill of lading as "packages of glass wool and pallets of stone" and were transported on board the fully cellular 1,800-TEU CMA CGM Everest after being loaded and sealed in Iran by a businessman "whose name does not apparently appear on any prohibited traders' lists," reported London's Containerisation International.

In response CMA CGM released a statement saying that it "takes the transportation of such incorrectly declared cargo extremely seriously" and added that it would "continue to provide all necessary assistance to the Nigerian authorities."

Initial reports claim the weapons were destined ultimately for Hamas fighters in the Gaza Strip, "but subsequently the African media has focused on the presidential elections due in Nigeria early next year," it said.

It is believed the car bombings in the capital, Abuja, in early October which claimed 12 lives, were the beginning of a violent build up to the oil-rich nation's polls.

But Israel's Haarezt daily newspaper said the arms movement more likely involved a plan to move weaponry overland across Africa through the Sudan and then across the Sinai to Hezbollah guerrillas in Gaza on a route overlooked by anti-armament patrols.

Source: SchedNet