WARNING: This is Version 1 of my old archive, so Photos will NOT work and many links will NOT work. But you can find articles by searching on the Titles. There is a lot of information in this archive. Use the SEARCH BAR at the top right. Prior to December 2012; I was a pro-Christian type of Conservative. I was unaware of the mass of Jewish lies in history, especially the lies regarding WW2 and Hitler. So in here you will find pro-Jewish and pro-Israel material. I was definitely WRONG about the Boeremag and Janusz Walus. They were for real.
Original Post Date: 2004-01-14 Posted By: Jan
From the News Archives of: WWW.AfricanCrisis.Org
Date & Time Posted: 1/14/2004 5:08:39 AM
How SA tip set up US "nuke" sting
The Cape Town businessman charged with allegedly exporting potential nuclear triggers from the United States was betrayed by a fellow South African.
Asher Karni, a respected member of the Jewish community, is out on bail after being arrested as he entered the United States on New Year’s Day.
He has been charged with “exporting, attempting to export or conspiring to export products with nuclear weapons applications” from the US to Pakistan without the required export licence.
And the charge sheet prepared by American authorities says they were tipped off by “an anonymous source in South Africa”.
The parts are “triggered spark gaps”, high-speed electrical switches that can be used either as detonating devices for nuclear weapons or for medical purposes – as Karni says they were intended to be used.
He was held in custody in Denver, Colorado, for 11 days before being granted bail by a US judge at midnight on Monday.
Lawyers for Karni in Cape Town told the Cape Argus that he had not known he was doing anything wrong and had been unaware that the parts could be used for nuclear weapons.
Karni originally ordered the parts from Cape Town through an export company in the state of New Jersey, to be sent to his company, Top-Cape, in Ocean View Drive in Green Point.
They were supplied by Massachusetts hi-tech firm Perkin Elmer Optoelectronics.
‘Karni originally ordered the parts from Cape Town’
It is alleged the export documents indicated the parts were destined for Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital in Soweto and were to cost just under half a million rand.
But before the export company sent them off, the US authorities say, they received a tip-off that Karni intended to sell them on to a Pakistani company.
What followed, according to prosecutors, was a sophisticated sting operation.
First, Perkin Elmer was ordered by the federal government to secretly render the parts useless and impossible to repair.
The first consignment was to comprise 66 of of a total of 200 triggers.
The delivery of the parts went routinely, from the manufacturer to the export company. But the American authorities say they were tracking the consignment throughout.
They say this was facilitated by their South African source providing them with precise information about the freighting of the parts.
The parts were delivered to Top-Cape on October 8.
The tip-off source in South Africa kept federal authorities posted with a fax detailing alleged correspondence between Karni and his Pakistani buyers, a Pakistani medical organisation.
The Americans tracked the parts to Dubai, from where they were destined for Islamabad.
At this point US agents tried to stop the shipment and inspect it, but Dubai officials blocked this.
The South African source then sent the US investigators a computer disc purportedly containing correspondence from Karni to his Pakistani clients.
The US authorities allege that this suggests that Karni knew that he was not allowed to export the parts to Pakistan.
On December 11, Karni’s Cape Town business was searched by South African police. They either seized or recorded several documents.
And on the basis of the US investigation findings, Karni was arrested as he stepped off an airliner at Denver International Airport with his
family on holiday.
The charge sheet closes with the allegation: “In sum, there is probable cause to conclude that Karni has exported, attempted to export, and conspired to export triggered spark gaps from the United States to Pakistan without first obtaining an export licence and with the knowledge that such an export licence was required if the goods were destined for Pakistan.
“Moreover, Karni structured the transaction so as to conceal his true purpose from the American authorities. In particular, Karni designated a false end-user for placement on US export documents.”
But Karni has denied any deliberate wrongdoing. In a statement to the Cape Argus on Monday night, his lawyer said his client was guilty only of “ignorance of the US law”.
Karni had co-operated fully and said his Pakistani clients had at all times said that they intended to use the parts for “hospital purposes” only.
Karni’s lawyer commented: “It would seem Karni was an unfortunate casualty of the ‘orange terror alert’ security situation in the US.”
He said the federal authorities had “over-reacted” to what was a misdemeanour.
Karni has been a prominent member of the Arthur’s Road Orthodox Hebrew Congregation in Sea Point for 18 years and is an assistant to its rabbi.
The rabbi, Jonathan Altman, said: “The congregation is very upset.
“He has always been a very upstanding person, very well-liked, very charitable, a very good person. So every one is very shaken by it and hopes it will be resolved.”
This article was originally published on page 1 of The Cape Argus on January 14, 2004
Source: IOL
URL: http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?click_id=13&ar…br>