As said in the article, finnish custom has seized shipments of suspicious aviation parts headed for Serbia and China. The english version doesen't mention much about the china relations, but the Finnish version spesificly mentioned navigation and radarsystems of Sukhoi fighters. Now as from the two mentioned countryes, Only china uses sukhois planes, it's fair enough to suspect that the parts where mented for J-11 or Su-30MKK.
The question is, why does those parts need to be smuggeld? Only thing that i've come up, is that China have decided to go diffrent way of aquiring those parts than the official trade. Is this becouse of lower unitprize or that the russian side is denying the official sale? Weren't there a rumours that the J-11 licence production have suffered of apcent/the unableness of produce domestically of some parts of the orginal Su-27?
Customs Uncovers Military Equipment Smuggling
Published 30.05.2006, 20.25 (updated 30.05.2006, 20.25)
The Finnish Customs Service has uncovered a number of attempts to smuggle Russian military equipment across the country's southeast border.
Over less than the past year, attempts have been seen to smuggle materials including jet fighter parts intended for shipment to Serbia-Montenegro and China. According to prosecutors, the incidents have been part of an organized effort.
Customs stopped the first suspicious shipment at the Nuijamaa border crossing point last August when it turned out that the contents did not match the accompanying documentation. What was listed as equipment for an aviation club in Serbia-Montenegro were in fact helmets for MIG fighter pilots.
Not collectors
Since then, customs has caught several more shipments, some which contained equipment and parts not yet identified, but which are suspected to have military applications. Officials turned the parts over to the Ministry of Defence and are still awaiting a report.
Licenses are required for the import and export of goods with both military and civilian uses. Such goods have been smuggle across the border before, but most often by collectors, such as in a case earlier this week when six Finnish men were arrested on the Russian side of the Niirala border crossing for trying to smuggle WW II munitions to Finland.
Now, the first evidence has been gathering that shows attempts are being made to use Finland for the illegal transit of modern military equipment.
The first court case so far brought a fine for a Russian man resident in Finland. In two other cases, charges against Russian transport drivers were dropped because there was not enough evidence that they themselves were directly involved in illegal activities.
YLE TV News
The question is, why does those parts need to be smuggeld? Only thing that i've come up, is that China have decided to go diffrent way of aquiring those parts than the official trade. Is this becouse of lower unitprize or that the russian side is denying the official sale? Weren't there a rumours that the J-11 licence production have suffered of apcent/the unableness of produce domestically of some parts of the orginal Su-27?
Customs Uncovers Military Equipment Smuggling
Published 30.05.2006, 20.25 (updated 30.05.2006, 20.25)
The Finnish Customs Service has uncovered a number of attempts to smuggle Russian military equipment across the country's southeast border.
Over less than the past year, attempts have been seen to smuggle materials including jet fighter parts intended for shipment to Serbia-Montenegro and China. According to prosecutors, the incidents have been part of an organized effort.
Customs stopped the first suspicious shipment at the Nuijamaa border crossing point last August when it turned out that the contents did not match the accompanying documentation. What was listed as equipment for an aviation club in Serbia-Montenegro were in fact helmets for MIG fighter pilots.
Not collectors
Since then, customs has caught several more shipments, some which contained equipment and parts not yet identified, but which are suspected to have military applications. Officials turned the parts over to the Ministry of Defence and are still awaiting a report.
Licenses are required for the import and export of goods with both military and civilian uses. Such goods have been smuggle across the border before, but most often by collectors, such as in a case earlier this week when six Finnish men were arrested on the Russian side of the Niirala border crossing for trying to smuggle WW II munitions to Finland.
Now, the first evidence has been gathering that shows attempts are being made to use Finland for the illegal transit of modern military equipment.
The first court case so far brought a fine for a Russian man resident in Finland. In two other cases, charges against Russian transport drivers were dropped because there was not enough evidence that they themselves were directly involved in illegal activities.
YLE TV News
