KUALA LUMPUR, March 17, Kyodo
Malaysian police have seized suspicious equipment found in two containers that could possibly be used for nuclear weapons from a ship that left a Chinese port bound for Iran, authorities said Thursday.
Home Minister Hishamuddin Hussein told reporters that the two containers ”were held on the grounds that they may be used for weapons of mass destruction and nuclear armaments.”
He said the cargo has to be verified by both local and international agencies, adding that the process could take ”weeks or months.”
Malaysia is also seeking information from China, Hishamuddin said.
The official news agency Bernama quoted the federal police chief Ismail Omar as saying that the Malaysian-registered vessel was bound for Iran when it was intercepted by police.
”The parts were labeled as boiler parts. Detailed investigations are being carried out with the help of Interpol and relevant experts,” he said.
Bernama also quoted Selangor state police chief Hisan Hamzah as saying that the ship was detained 10 days ago at Port Klang, the country’s main port about 50 kilometers northwest of Kuala Lumpur.
News of the raid on a ship was first reported by The Sun daily on Thursday.
The ship and its crew were released after questioning. Hishamuddin said the police have no grounds to detain them.
He said the raid was mounted following a tip-off from a foreign intelligence agency.
”We are really on top of it. We are constantly monitoring,” he said.
