New Delhi: Reports say that a ship that was on its way to Karachi was intercepted by customs officials off the Kandala port in Gujarat. The vessel which was coming from China is suspected to contain equipment that could proliferate nuclear arms.
The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), has fielded a team of scientist working in the missile and explosive related labs to investigate the suspicious equipment.
The crew of the vessel called ‘Da Cui Yun’ said that the equipment was an industrial dryer but the DRDO scientists are saying it is a machine that is used to launch ballistic missiles.
Government officials said, “From the shape and dimension of the equipment, it is primarily being suspected to be an autoclave machine which is used in aerospace industry especially to make high-performance composites which can be used for making front section of ballistic missiles. This has raised suspicions of the proliferation of nuclear arms. The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has fielded a team of scientists working in its missile and explosive related laboratories.”
Currently a team of officials from the intelligence agencies, DRDO scientists and customs are probing the equipment on the merchant ship which had a Hong Kong flag. The vessel was seized on 3 February when it halted at Kandala port.
