World News 13-08-2003 FBI Arrests Suspected British Missile Smuggler who: FBI what: Arrest suspected British arms smuggler in missile sting where: Newark, New Jersey when: Yesterday snippet: "A British man suspected of trying to sell a Russian surface-to-air missile to an FBI agent posing as a terrorist has been arrested after a complex international sting operation," reports The Scotsman. "According to some reports, the man was looking for terrorists who would fire the missile at Air Force One - the official 747 jumbo jet of George Bush, the United States president - although other accounts said the man, thought to be of Indian descent, was an international arms smuggler." "A sealed indictment accused him of trying to smuggle a shoulder-launched, Russian-made missile into the United States by ship," says The Telegraph. "Some reports suggested the weapon was an Igla missile, which has a range of 2.5 miles." The unnamed man is expected in court in New Jersey today at about 1400 GMT (1500 BST), says the BBC. He was arrested at a hotel in Newark "after collecting a crate containing the missile. Two more people were later picked up at a New York gem dealership". "The Igla is one of the more sophisticated anti-aircraft missiles available," says The Guardian`s Washington correspondent Julian Borger. "It has infra-red targeting to lock on to heat sources, and ultra-violet systems to detect colour to help its guidance system discriminate between an airplane and the flares that are sometimes used as counter-measures." [... more]

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