An investigative team from Antigua arrived here Tuesday to try to find out how a mysterious $200,000 shipment of Israeli arms to that Caribbean island nation found its way into the arsenal of a Colombian drug trafficker.
The Israeli authorities say they are cooperating fully.
The Defense Ministry issued a detailed statement to show that the arms deal with Antigua was completely aboveboard as far as Israel is concerned.
But it did not explain why the Antiguan government denies ordering the arms and is seeking information from the Israeli Foreign Ministry as to who did.
The statement also did not explain the Colombian connection or offer any new information about the affair, which has evoked expressions of concern from the U.S. State Department.
The government of what officially is called Antigua and Barbuda, formerly part of the British West Indies, requested and received the Israeli government’s permission to send a delegation to conduct an inquiry.
It is headed by diplomat Patrick Lewis and includes representatives of the Antiguan police and three Washington lawyers hired by Antigua.
The visitors met with the head of the Foreign Ministry’s Latin American division Tuesday. They plan to question several unidentified persons in an attempt to clear up conflicting reports about individuals in both Israel and Antigua implicated in the deal.
SERIAL NUMBERS MATCH UP
The shipment consisted of 500 Israeli-made Uzi submachine guns and Galil assault rifles, in addition to shoulder-held rocket launchers, night-scopes and ammunition.
Israel said they were ordered by Antigua in 1988 and shipped there in March 1989 with all documents in order, including an Antiguan pledge that the weapons would not be transferred to a third party.
The cargo was, in fact, accompanied by an Israeli official to make sure it reached the proper consignee, the Defense Ministry said.
The weapons were discovered on the estate of a major Colombian cocaine dealer, Jose Rodriguez Gacha, after he was killed in a shoot-out with police in December 1989.
The Defense Ministry’s statement confirmed that the serial numbers supplied by the Colombian authorities matched the weapons shipped to Antigua.
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