Скачать или смотреть Turkish ship seized, accused of gun smuggling

(21 Aug 2009) SHOTLIST
1. Officials of Philippine Bureau of Customs examining wooden boxes
2. Box being opened, filled with automatic rifles
3. Various of automatic rifles being inspected by Philippine officials
4. Close of box with automatic rifles
5. SOUNDBITE: (English) Napoleon Morales, Philippine Customs Commissioner:
"There are 45 Galil-type guns and 15 other accessories, including all the accessories, we have discovered that there is 15 boxes already empty."
6. Box with label reading (English) "Ministry of internal security and civil protection"
7. Wide of ship
8. Close of ship's name, reading (English) "captain UFUK Panama"
STORYLINE:
Philippine authorities said on Friday they were filing smuggling charges against a South African captain and 13 crewmen, mostly Georgians, of a Turkish ship seized by authorities southwest of Manila with an undeclared cargo of high-powered firearms.
The ship, M/V Captain Ufuk, which was seized on Thursday, arrived at a port in western Bataan province's Mariveles township from Turkey via Indonesia.
The ship was en route to the port of Batangas City, just south of Manila.
Police, coast guard and customs agents jointly inspected the vessel and discovered Galil assault rifles and assorted military accessories hidden
in five wooden crates.
"There are 45 Galil-type guns and 15 other accessories, including all the accessories, we have discovered that there is 15 boxes already empty," Philippine Customs Commissioner, Napoleon Morales, said on Friday.
Earlier, the regional police chief, Chief Superintendent Leon Nilo dela Cruz, said there were suspicions the crewmen could have thrown some their illegal cargo off the ship.
The seizure comes amid a police campaign to rid the country of unregistered firearms blamed for fuelling crime, militarism and insurgencies.
The programme is expected to recover only 3 percent of an estimated 1.1 (m) million loose firearms - a realistic target in a country with "cultural propensity" for gun possession, national police chief said on Tuesday.
Intelligence reports earlier pointed to possible arms smuggling in the area involving a foreign ship, officials explained.
They said the guns may have been intended for Muslim militants, communist guerrillas or for private armies of politicians gearing up for next year's election.
De la Cruz said they were still investigating the incident but would file criminal charges against the ship's crew.
He said they were still investigating who owned the ship.

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