Nigeria seizes aircraft, weapons bound for Chad

Kano — Nigeria has seized an aircraft loaded
with at least one military helicopter and heavy
weapons bound for Chad that made an
unscheduled landing at Kano airport, airport
and security officials said Sunday.
Five Ukrainian crew members were detained,
said Nigerian security agents, who insisted on
anonymity because they were not authorized
to speak to the press. The flight crew said the
plane was flying from Bangui in Central African
Republic to N'Djamena, the capital of Chad,
said the security agents. Kano is far northwest
of that air route.
The airport authority confirmed Sunday that a
Russian-made Antonov transport plane was
seized Saturday, apparently after it made an
emergency landing because it was running out
of fuel.
The plane carried one helicopter, according to
PR Nigeria, a public relations company hired
by the government. But security officers said
the cargo included two helicopters, rocket
launchers and machine-guns.
An "intense investigation is ongoing including
using diplomatic means to unravel the mission
of the aircraft, its origin and destination," PR
Nigeria said.
Chad has thousands of troops in Bangui, as
part of an African Union peacekeeping force.
Nigeria has had its own controversies about
acquiring helicopter gunships to fight an
Islamic uprising in the northeast. South Africa
in September and October seized and froze
some $15 million in cash and bank transfers
with which officials intended to buy
helicopters.
- AP