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Vessel stopped en route from Cuba, found to be carrying suspected missile material hidden in consignment of sugar; ship captain tries to kill himself.
Panama stops North Korean ship over ‘weapon material’
PANAMA (YnetNews/AFP) – Panama’s president said that a North Korean ship captain tried to kill himself after the vessel was stopped en route from Cuba and found to have suspected missile material on board.
Outlining a dramatic sequence of events, President Ricardo Martinelli said the ship was targeted by drug enforcement officials as it approached the Panama Canal and was taken into port, but a search revealed cargo of far greater concern.
The vessel’s estimated 35-man crew also rioted when police stepped aboard, according to Martinelli, who said the suspicious goods were found hidden in a consignment of sugar.
“The world needs to sit up and take note: you cannot go around shipping undeclared weapons of war through the Panama Canal,” he told Radio Panama listeners.
« click for Martinelli twitter account
Ricardo Martinelli: Material venia escondido en contenedores bajo un cargamento de azucar(IB-Times) – The president posted on Monday evening local time a photo on his official Twitter account of a large green metal object inside a shipping container.
“Panama captured North Korean flagged ship from Cuba with undeclared war cargo,” he said on the post. “Material came hidden in sugar cargo containers,” he added in an ensuing post.
If the object in the photo turns out to be some type of heavy ordnance or missile, it would be a violation of United Nations sanctions against the rogue state that bans imports or exports of military hardware.
Spanish-language La Prensa news service reported Tuesday morning that the country’s antinarcotics chief Javier Caraballo said the crew of the ship named Chong Chon Gang behaved “reluctant and warlike” when authorities boarded the vessel, which he said had a history of carrying “illicit substances.” The ship was stopped on the Caribbean end of the canal at the Manzanillo International Terminal, according to the BBC.
Voice of America: Panama Seizes N. Korean Ship Carrying Undeclared Weapons
