-->Scheint, es gibt doch noch Amis, die solide und robuste russische Wertarbeit
ihrem staubanfälligen High-Tech Geraffel vorziehen *gg*

Italian Authorities Seize Firearms From Ship Bound For US

04/21/2004
Dow Jones News Services
(Copyright © 2004 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.)



ROME (AP)--Authorities in southern Italy seized about 7,500 Kalashnikov assault rifles and other combat-grade firearms from a ship headed for New York, officials said.

The weapons - AK-47s, AKM rifles and machine guns worth more than $6 million - were found mixed in with properly labeled guns in cargo containers on board a Turkish-flagged ship that docked at the port of Gioia Tauro, a police official said Tuesday.

Documents accompanying the cargo indicated the weapons were destined for a company in the U.S. state of Georgia, the official said, declining to name the company.

During customs controls in Italy, officials found that two of the ship's containers held combat-grade Kalashnikov rifles hidden under conventional firearms that included SKA rifles and Mauser rifles. The rifles were designated combat weapons because they had bayonets affixed and cartridges that held up to 30 rounds, the official said.

The official said police suspected the arms were being smuggled, and he declined to give the name of the company in Georgia, citing the need for secrecy during the investigation.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the weapons were discovered 10 days ago, but that police delayed an announcement until they had carried out further checks.

The ship was traveling from the Romanian port of Constanta to New York.

The AK-47 rifles had been altered so they couldn't be used for rapid fire, but the alteration could be easily reversed, police said.

A 1994 ban prevents the U.S. gun industry from making, importing or selling military style semiautomatic weapons because. But that law expires in September.