Finland impounds shipment of Patriot missiles, explosives in ship destined for Shanghai

[Ed Jewett]

69 Patriot Surface-to-Air Missiles Found On Boat To China

2112

2011[Someone not only transferred American technology to China, they transferred a shitload of our best missiles to China!]

Patriot missiles found on China-bound ship

CBS News


The cargo ship M/S Thor Liberty is seen at Mussalo harbour in Kotka, Finland, Dec. 21 2011. (AP Photo/Lehtikuva)

(AP)HELSINKI Around 160 tons of explosives and 69 surface-to-air missiles have been found by Finnish officials on a cargo ship bearing a British flag and ultimately destined for China, authorities said Wednesday. They said they didn't know the origin of the Patriot missiles or who was supposed to receive them.The M/S Thor Liberty sailed from the north German port of Emden on Dec. 13 and two days later docked in Kotka, southern Finland, to pick up a cargo of anchor chains, officials said. Its final destination was Shanghai, but it wasn't clear whether that's where the arms shipment was going, officials said.
Detective superintendent Timo Virtanen of the National Bureau of Investigation said dock workers found massive amounts of picric acid an explosive and the missiles as they were loading the chains and alerted inspectors.
Some of the explosives were not stored properly, customs spokesman Petri Lounatmaa said, adding that an investigation was launched into a possible breach of Finnish export and weapons trading laws and that the cargo would be impounded if determined to be illegal.
"At this stage we don't know where it was loaded on the ship or if the Thor Liberty planned a drop before its port of destination in China," Lounatmaa told The Associated Press.