November 2,
2008: British and American police have broken up an eight man smuggling
operation that got 30,000 electronic components to Iran, illegally, over the
last five years. The men were first identified three years ago when U.S. Army
investigators, going over the scene of a bombing in Iraq, found that the weapon
was built using American made electronics. Serial numbers of components were
found, and traced back to the smuggling ring. The two leaders of the operation
are Britons of Iranian ancestry. One was arrested in London, the other was not
found at his apartment in Dubai, and may have fled to Iran.
The
electronic components that were smuggled are dual (civilian and military) use,
and require a special export permit before they can be sent to Iran. While Iran
manufactures many simple weapons, it has no electronics industry to speak of,
and must import most components. Some of these items are only available from
the United States, or America is the largest supplier. But Iran is under
several embargos that prevent many weapons related items from being legally
sent there.
Iran has
sought, with some success, to offer big money to smugglers who can beat the
embargo and get needed industrial and military equipment. This is a risky
business, and American and European prisons are full of Iranians, and other
nationals, who tried, and failed, to procure forbidden goods. The smuggling
operations is currently under more scrutiny, and attack, because of Iran's
growing nuclear weapons program.
