British customs officials have seized a consignment of armoured car parts on their way from South Africa to upgrade the Defence Forces' fleet of armoured cars.
Eight turrets for the Panhard AML 60 armoured cars were impounded at Heathrow Airport on December 29th, it emerged yesterday.
It is understood the turrets, complete with cannon and grenade-launcher tubes, were seized because the companies transporting them from the manufacturer in South Africa did not have the appropriate documentation for handling military equipment.
The relevant Section 5 licence for the importation of weapons into Britain, or transport through British ports or airports, had still not been obtained yesterday and the equipment remained impounded at Heathrow.
It is understood the eight turrets, part of an order of 14 worth £2.5 million, arrived at Heathrow on a Virgin cargo aircraft where they were to be collected by a private company and transported to Dublin Port.
The equipment was manufactured by the LIW company in Pretoria, a subsidiary of the arms manufacturer DENEL, of South Africa.
The agent for the movement of the parts, Arcon Consultants, of Stillorgan, Dublin, refused to comment on the matter yesterday, referring The Irish Times, to the Defence Forces press office.
A Defence Forces spokesman said yesterday they were disappointed and hoped the situation at Heathrow would not prolong the refurbishment programme for the armoured cars.
The AML 60 armoured car has been in service with the Army since the 1960s. Some 32 were bought from the French manufacturer, Panhard, between 1964 and 1975.
The Army decided two years ago to keep and upgrade 14 of the armoured cars. The existing cars have a 60 mm cannon and twin 7.62 machine guns. Although dating from the 1960s, when they were manufactured by the French for service against Algerian nationalists, the cars are quite fast, with a maximum road speed of 90 k.p.h.
They are to be used as part of the training programme for the Army's new fleet of 40 armoured personnel carriers which are to begin arriving for service later this year.