![]() |
Compiled from news reports
HELSINKI - A shipment of 69 surface-to-air missiles impounded by Finnish authorities was a legitimate delivery from Germany to South Korea, a German official said Thursday.
The announcement came after Finnish authorities seized the Patriot missiles and 160 tons of explosives on a British-registered cargo ship and detained two Ukrainian crew members on suspicion of violating weapons export laws.
Police said the missiles didn't have the right transit documents and the explosive picric acid wasn't properly stored on the M/S Thor Liberty, which docked in Kotka, southern Finland, on Dec. 15.
A spokesman for Germany's Defense Ministry said the missiles were an official shipment that was fully declared and had all necessary clearings from German authorities.
``Those patriot guided missiles are from the Bundeswehr's stocks and have been shipped to South Korea,'' according to an intergovernmental treaty, he said, declining to be named in line with government policy.
He said no explosives were part of the shipment and he didn't have any information on that part of the impounded cargo.
Finnish authorities detained two Ukrainians over 69 surface-to-air Patriot missiles found on board a ship that docked in Finland en route to China, customs officials said Thursday.
"The ship's captain and the first mate have been detained," the head of the Finnish customs anti-crime unit, Petri Lounatmaa, told AFP.
Finnish customs are investigating the case as one of illegal export of defense material.
The missiles, produced by U.S. firm Raytheon, were discovered following a customs search on the British-registered Thor Liberty, owned by Danish firm Thorco, at the Finnish port of Kotka about 120 kilometres (75 miles) from Helsinki.









