Before go-ahead,Aegian Glory scanned

A Customs team thoroughly checked the cargo which contained military equipment,arms and ammunition.

Sources stated the final check is meant to tally the cargo and verify it before the ship is given a go-ahead.

 The Customs officials received a communication from the New York-based Movement Control officials of the UN Mission confirming the consignment that included rocket launchers,smoke bombs and anti-aircraft guns,apart from other sophisticated arms and ammunition,police sources said.

The letter from the UN office was received in response to queries made by the Customs authorities seeking detailed information about the Liberia-registered ‘Aegean Glory’,which was brought to the Kolkata dock Sunday afternoon amid tight security.

Customs sources said the letter from the UN Mission also apologised for the inconvenience to the authorities and admitted the confusion was created as the ship did not have proper documentation.

The missive also said the authorities here had not been properly intimated about the consignment by the ship.

Meanwhile,the Nepal army has already made it clear that their part of the consignment consisted of three jeeps,a light truck and a container carrying spare parts for the vehicles and generators.

The vessel was slated to unload the military cargo at different ports to return the weapons of the nations that participated in the UN Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) that began in 2003 to contain the conflict arising out of the second Liberian civil war. The Karachi-bound ship was intercepted recently in Hooghly near Diamond Harbour and was later brought to Kolkata port.

The 152.35 metre-long vessel loaded the military cargo at Monrovia port in Liberia,started its journey on May 17 and sailed to Port Louis in Mauritius on June 4.

The ship unloaded a part of its military cargo first at St. Louis and then at Cox Bazar Port near Chittagong in Bangladesh and then set sail for Kolkata dock to unload some military cargo that belongs to the Nepal Army.