(NSI News Source Info) WASHINGTON - February 28, 2009: The continuing deadlock over new arms deals between Russia and China has led to a remarkable development: Russian security services are investigating a suspected plot to steal Russian weapons and sell them to Beijing.
RIA Novosti reported Wednesday that a number of Russian navy officers were under investigation for allegedly trying to ship 30 anti-submarine missiles and 200 bombs, worth a total of $18 
million, to Tajikistan for eventual delivery to China.
The Kremlin is taking the allegations very seriously. Russia's chief military prosecutor, Sergei Fridinsky, told RIA Novosti a criminal investigation had started on the case. He said the naval officers had been working with several businessmen. The report gave no indication whether any of the powerful, super-wealthy Russian organized crime families were involved.
The targeted weapons do not appear to have been state-of-the-art or strategically significant, at least according to the report. Russian navy spokesman Capt. 1st Rank Igor Dygalo described them to the news agency as "decommissioned, recycled ammunition."
Dygalo stated that the plot had been foiled by "the navy, in conjunction with the Chief Military Prosecutor's Office and the Federal Security Service."
million, to Tajikistan for eventual delivery to China.
The Kremlin is taking the allegations very seriously. Russia's chief military prosecutor, Sergei Fridinsky, told RIA Novosti a criminal investigation had started on the case. He said the naval officers had been working with several businessmen. The report gave no indication whether any of the powerful, super-wealthy Russian organized crime families were involved.
The targeted weapons do not appear to have been state-of-the-art or strategically significant, at least according to the report. Russian navy spokesman Capt. 1st Rank Igor Dygalo described them to the news agency as "decommissioned, recycled ammunition."
Dygalo stated that the plot had been foiled by "the navy, in conjunction with the Chief Military Prosecutor's Office and the Federal Security Service." However, RIA Novosti gave a tantalizing hint that the plot, and the existence of organized criminality within the Russian navy, may have gone far higher. It cited what it described as "some media reports" as claiming that very senior Russian naval officers, up to the rank of several vice admirals and rear admirals, may have been implicated.
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