LONDON: The British Defence Ministry had tipped off Indian authorities about the clandestine airdrop of weapons into remote areas of West Bengal last week, according to media reports.
The reports said Peter Bleach, a shadowy mercenary arms dealer from North Yorkshire, who is now being held with the Indian security agencies, along with other crew members of the Latvian registered An26 aircraft, had told British Ministry of Defence Officials that he had been asked to secretly deliver a large consignment of arms, including hundreds of AK47s, Rocket launchers and antitank grenades to a customer in India.
Bleach, 45, a former British soldier who spent eight years as a mercenary in Rhodesia, has admitted that he dropped the arms from aircraft, but did not know who it was meant for.
Bleach has offered more information in exchange for immunity from prosecution. He claimed that he had guns ahead with the plans as he was afraid of other members of international group of arms dealers, who helped According to reports, Bleach has also provided the Calcutta police with names, addressed and telephone contact numbers of agents and arms dealers, who he claims were involved in the clandestine arms airdrop.
The British mercenary has told the police he collected arms from Borgas, in Bulgaria on December 12 and took them to Karachi, where half was stocked and rest airdropped five days later over West Bengal.
‘According to media reports, Bleach has named the Bulgarian supplier and two Danish men, who he says helped put the deal together.
The reports said Bleach had told the police that Sam Sieve, a director of trade investment in United Kingdom and a London shipping broker helped to arrange the arms purchase.
However, Steve, who is presently holidaying in Barbados in the West Indies, said that he had never heard of Bleach. “My business may involve moving arms across the world, but it is always above board from government to government and with export license. I have no idea why Bleach should have mentioned my name to the Indian authorities,” he said.
Before his arrest, reports here said Bleach had often visited countries in South Asia as part of his legitimate arms deals.
‘Meanwhile, in New Delhi, Interpol India has contacted its counterpart in five countries including Hong Kong, Latvian and United Kingdom as a part of the ongoing probe into the Purulia arms dropping case:
Article extracted from this publication >> January 3, 1996
