Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
06BERLIN3324
2006-11-16 16:03:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Berlin
Cable title:  

GERMAN AUTHORITIES ARREST MAN FOR EXPORTING WMD

Tags:  ETTC KCRM KNNP PARM PREL IR GM SZ 
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VZCZCXYZ0038
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHRL #3324 3201603
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 161603Z NOV 06
FM AMEMBASSY BERLIN
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 6120
INFO RUEHSW/AMEMBASSY BERN PRIORITY 0737
C O N F I D E N T I A L BERLIN 003324 

SIPDIS

STATE FOR ISN, NEA, AND EUR/AGS
SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/19/2016
TAGS: ETTC KCRM KNNP PARM PREL IR GM SZ
SUBJECT: GERMAN AUTHORITIES ARREST MAN FOR EXPORTING WMD
PRECURSORS TO IRAN

REF: A. FBIS/OSC EUP20061112036006

B. FBIS/OSC EUP20061107085001

Classified By: By Counselor for Economic Affairs Douglas B. Neumann, fo
r reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).

C O N F I D E N T I A L BERLIN 003324

SIPDIS

STATE FOR ISN, NEA, AND EUR/AGS
SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/19/2016
TAGS: ETTC KCRM KNNP PARM PREL IR GM SZ
SUBJECT: GERMAN AUTHORITIES ARREST MAN FOR EXPORTING WMD
PRECURSORS TO IRAN

REF: A. FBIS/OSC EUP20061112036006

B. FBIS/OSC EUP20061107085001

Classified By: By Counselor for Economic Affairs Douglas B. Neumann, fo
r reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).


1. (C) On November 13, the Federal Office of Criminal
Investigation (BKA) headquartered in Meckenheim provided
Legatt Berlin with a summary of arrests made November 6 in
connection with illegal shipments of WMD-related items to
Iran. According to the summary, the Federal Office of
Customs Investigations (ZKA) stopped an unlicensed shipment
being sent via a transportation company in Karlsfeld,
Bavaria, to an Iranian company associated with Iran's
military programs. German federal authorities searched six
sites in North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and Bavaria; seized
documents, data storage devices, PCs, and laptop computers;
and arrested a male German citizen of Iranian origin in the
Dusseldorf area as well as two employees of the
transportation company in Karlsfeld. German authorities
believe the Iranian-German is the main suspect and an agent
for Iranian intelligence tasked with procurement for Iran's
biological and chemical warfare programs. According to the
summary, supplied by the BKA, the suspect used an alias for a
P.O. box in Switzerland to purchase goods made in Germany and
other European countries.


2. (C) Global Affairs officer met German MFA Export Control
Division Desk Officer Andreas Kauke November 14 to discuss
the case. Press accounts report the main suspect's name is
"Sahed E." Kauke said the investigation continues and that
German authorities are working with their Swiss counterparts,
since the main suspect ordered the dual-use items and
missile-related parts via a Swiss address. Kauke said the
Iranian-German did not ship anything to Iran in the several
months that the federal authorities had him under
surveillance. If he had tried to ship something, Kauke
continued, the authorities would have immediately been able
to arrest him.


3. (SBU) NRW police informed Consulate Dusseldorf that the
main suspect had shipped the controlled goods, including
centrifuges, precursor chemicals, and specialized engineering
tools, to Iran via land routes since December 2005. The BKA
in Meckenheim and the ZKA in Stuttgart are co-leading the
investigation.


4. (U) Post will continue to monitor this case and report
substantive developments as warranted.


5. (U) This message incorporates material provided by Legatt
Berlin and Consulate General Dusseldorf.
TIMKEN JR