Preacherman
April 20, 2004, 02:43 PM
From Reuters (http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml;jsessionid=LAD2DX201G2VCCRBAELCFEY?type=topNews&storyID=4880939):
Italy Seizes 8,000 Kalashnikovs Headed to U.S.
Tue Apr 20, 2004 11:25 AM ET
ROME (Reuters) - Italian customs officers seized more than 8,000 Kalashnikov assault rifles and other weapons on a ship headed to the United States, officials said Tuesday.
The arms, worth about $7.15 million, were discovered aboard a ship arriving from Romania that pulled into the southern Italian port of Gioia Tauro on its way to the United States, Italy's customs said in a statement.
A U.S. ban on assault weapons is due to expire in September, and attempts to renew it have stalled in Congress.
According to the travel documents, the arms belong to a large U.S. company with headquarters in the state of Georgia.
"We know that the destination was North America, but we don't effectively know if that's where the arms were going," a customs official told RAI state television.
The arms were found inside three containers during a routine customs check earlier this week. They were confiscated due to discrepancies in the customs forms, but the news was only made public Tuesday.
The customs office said the weapons had been described as "common guns" instead of assault rifles and longer-range combat arms in the travel documentation.
Italy Seizes 8,000 Kalashnikovs Headed to U.S.
Tue Apr 20, 2004 11:25 AM ET
ROME (Reuters) - Italian customs officers seized more than 8,000 Kalashnikov assault rifles and other weapons on a ship headed to the United States, officials said Tuesday.
The arms, worth about $7.15 million, were discovered aboard a ship arriving from Romania that pulled into the southern Italian port of Gioia Tauro on its way to the United States, Italy's customs said in a statement.
A U.S. ban on assault weapons is due to expire in September, and attempts to renew it have stalled in Congress.
According to the travel documents, the arms belong to a large U.S. company with headquarters in the state of Georgia.
"We know that the destination was North America, but we don't effectively know if that's where the arms were going," a customs official told RAI state television.
The arms were found inside three containers during a routine customs check earlier this week. They were confiscated due to discrepancies in the customs forms, but the news was only made public Tuesday.
The customs office said the weapons had been described as "common guns" instead of assault rifles and longer-range combat arms in the travel documentation.