Israel Matzav

New Zealand linked to North Korean arms plane caught in Thailand?

Earlier this week, I reported on a North Korean jet that was carrying 35 tons of weapons that landed in Thailand and was caught. Now, the government of New Zealand is investigating whether an Auckland-based company was connected to that arms shipment.

Officials in Kazakhstan and the Republic of Georgia have said the aircraft, which is managed by Georgia-registered carrier Air West Ltd., was leased to carry the cargo by SP Trading Ltd., a New Zealand-registered company with offices in Auckland.

Air West director Nodar Kakabadze said he had no information about SP Trading.

"We signed a contract with SP Trading Nov. 4 this year to carry out some flights. That's it," Mr. Kakabadze said by phone from the freight company's base in the Black Sea port city of Batumi, Georgia. "I know nothing more about the company, and we'd never worked with them before," he said.

A copy of the lease agreement between Air West and SP Trading, obtained by Georgian aviation officials and viewed by The Wall Street Journal, lists a person named Lu Zhang as SP Trading's director. New Zealand government records indicate SP Trading was incorporated there in July of this year and also list Lu Zhang as its director.

"We are indeed aware of this issue and the alleged link to New Zealand," said a spokesman for New Zealand's Foreign Ministry. "We are urgently seeking more information," the spokesman said.

Attempts to locate Lu Zhang and contact SP Trading were unsuccessful Wednesday. A reporter who visited SP Trading's registered offices—located in a nine-story building across from Auckland's town hall—was unable to obtain access to the floor listed on the records.

Hmmm.

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 8:46 AM