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Containers linked to arms case found
(from the Chicago Tribune)
> By Valerie Alvord
> STAFF WRITER
>
> March 22, 1997
>
> Three shipping containers believed to be connected to a load
> of illegal weapons that surfaced in San Diego two weeks ago
> were confiscated by the U.S. Customs Service on Tuesday when
> they arrived in New Jersey by train.
>
> The containers, which took a circuitous global route before
> arriving at the Port of Long Beach, were filled with items
> sources said were not contraband. They would not elaborate.
>
> However, authorities have not ruled out the possibility that
> the containers were switched, either as they were shipped
> around the world or before they were loaded onto a train
> bound for the East Coast, customs sources said.
>
> The seizure is the latest twist in an international intrigue
> that has fueled concern about the future of the Long Beach
> port, sparked complaints from the Mexican government that
> the United States is the source of weapons moving south
> across the border and raised concerns about how easy it is
> to smuggle contraband into the United States in sealed
> containers.
>
> Concerns about smuggling at the Long Beach port were
> heightened two weeks ago when The San Diego Union-Tribune=CA
> first reported that two truckloads of weapons which came
> into the country through Long Beach were found in a
> warehouse in San Diego. It was one of the largest caches of
> illegal weapons ever seized in this country. Customs sources
> said at the time that four more containers were missing.
>
> The discovery in New Jersey indicates that five of the six
> containers may be accounted for, the sources said yesterday.
>
> Customs officials are still trying to find out who is
> responsible for the weapons, which were shipped from Vietnam
> to Germany to Long Beach in January, then trucked to the
> Otay Mesa border crossing.
>
> In Washington, Mexico's ambassador to the United States
> fired off a formal letter two days ago to the U.S. Treasury
> Department, which oversees the Customs Service, calling for
> an investigation into the San Diego shipment and expressing
> concern about weapon smuggling.
>
> "The letter says that the government is very concerned about
> this incident and asks to share in any information that the
> U.S. government has regarding this case, because the
> smuggling of arms into Mexico is a matter of national
> concern," said Lourdes Sandoval, spokeswoman for the Mexican
> Consulate in San Diego.
>
> She said renewed concern was prompted by the revelation that
> the San Diego shipment -- two containers 20 feet long, 8
> feet wide and 8 feet high -- had been bound for Mexico and
> contained thousands of grenade launchers and parts of
> automatic rifles.
>
> The weapons were discovered after a warehouse worker noticed
> the boxes, labeled as holding hand tools and straphangers,
> appeared to contain contraband.
>
> Sources said some of the pieces of the disassembled rifles
> were missing, giving rise to fears that parts of the
> shipment had already moved into Mexico.
>
> Whether that is true remains the subject of speculation.
> Sources said yesterday that the fact that all of the
> containers which have surfaced so far have taken circuitous
> routes around the world is suspicious and that routing
> containers through many ports and onto more than one ship is
> a trademark of smugglers.
>
> The routes listed on the bills of lading for the containers
> found so far appeared to be normal, but closer checking
> shows that they crisscrossed the world.
>
> Through interviews, shipping records and computer data, The
> Union-Tribune=CA tracked the containers and learned that the
> two found in San Diego landed in Long Beach on Jan. 12
> aboard a South Korean cargo ship.
>
> The shipment was composed of three containers, but one
> container was returned to Vietnam, then routed back through
> Long Beach by way of Thailand. It landed a second time in
> Long Beach on March 6 and was loaded onto an eastbound
> train. A shipping tracking system lost its trail in New York
> City.
>
> Sources said yesterday that not one but three containers in
> the same shipment were loaded aboard the train.
>
> "Agents were on the scene when the cartons arrived, but
> there were no munitions," one source said.
>
> The cargo could have been switched "anywhere along the
> route" before it was loaded onto the train, he added.
>
> "What happened is a good question," he said. "The secret is
> in the transit around the world. It looks very suspicious.
> Most people don't do legitimate business that way."
>
> The focus on arms smuggling through the Long Beach port
> comes as many people are criticizing a Long Beach city plan
> to build a cargo terminal at the old Long Beach Naval
> Station and lease it to the China Ocean Shipping Co.
>
> Protesters say that COSCO is an arm of the Chinese military
> and that turning the facility over to a company linked to a
> foreign government could make smuggling easier.
>
> Critics have said smuggling through any U.S. entry point is
> easy because customs checks so few sealed containers.
>
> "We might check 2 percent of (any type) of sealed
> containers," a customs source said yesterday.
>
> "So, if you're a smuggler, you can figure you've got a 98
> percent chance of getting your stuff through. Those aren't
> bad odds."
>
> Staff writer Sandra Dibble contributed to this report.
>
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