The Finnish authorities have impounded an Isle of Man-flagged ship bound for China with undeclared missiles and explosives, officials say.

Police are questioning the crew of the MS Thor Liberty after what were described as 69 Patriot anti-missile missiles were found aboard.

Interior Minister Paivi Rasanen said the missiles were marked "fireworks".

Yeah... Mmmmkay. lemme guess, i ain't gonna see this story on CNN tonight.

mk: Another company official, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed the ship had been detained in Finland and said the missiles could have been loaded on to the vessel by mistake, AFP adds.

"Oh, whistles! Ha! I thought you said 'missiles'!"

69 patriot missiles? I don't think those come cheap. I wouldn't be surprised to read about a ship full of small arms, but patriot missiles probably can't get loose without high-level approval. I would think that this is probably some backroom 'diplomacy'. I'd think that South Korea could just buy the missiles if they wanted too. They could be destined for anywhere.

UPDATE: The Germans say that they are theirs. http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5iMCY-cBWtL...

Maybe it's true, but there's no way to tell.

posted 4507 days ago