NORINCO Arms Bound for Cuba Seized in Colombia after Anonymous Tip
A Chinese shipping vessel, named “Da Dan Xia,” owned and operated by Chine Ocean Shipping Company (COSCO), was found to be carrying an undocumented shipment of weapons to Cuba that were manufactured by China’s state-owned NORINCO. After docking in the port of Cartagena on February 28, Colombian police boarded for a two-day investigation of the ship’s cargo and its crew after receiving an anonymous tip. Officially filed customs documents detailed a cargo of chemical products, machinery parts, and grain products, but, underneath the cargo listed in the manifest, officials found 99 rockets, 3,000 cannon shells, 100 tons of military-grade dynamite and 2.6 million detonators. Beijing claims the arms are part of a legal export deal with Cuba that does not violate Chinese law or promised international obligations. The ship‘s captain, Wu Hong, has been arrested for arms trafficking.