Gunship
29th Jun 2003, 12:52
British Customs officials are to launch an inquiry into the sale of jet
fighter which look likely to be involved in military operations against
civilians and rebels in one of Africa's bloodiest civil wars.
An Observer investigation has revealed a loophole allowing potentially
lethal British military hardware to slip out of the country without official
scrutiny, licence or control.
The sale of the two Strikemaster jets to the Ivory Coast government
discloses a trail which begins with a British air display pilot and ends
with a former commando in the French special forces now plying his trade as
a mercenary in the war-torn state.
It will come as a further embarrassment to the Government following recent
revelations of how British tanks and planes were used by the Indonesian
military to suppress a popular uprising.
The Strikemaster is one of the most successful fighters made in Britain.
Fitted with two machine-guns and wings designed to carry 3,000lb of bombs or
rockets, it is well suited for counter-insurgency, ground attacks and
advanced pilot training.
Its acrobatic displays are popular at airshows. But it is these very
qualities which allowed it to be sold quietly through a Yorkshire aviation
firm to Ivory Coast.
Concerns were first raised in March this year after a plane-spotter
published his photograph of a Strikemaster at a Maltese airport in freshly
painted Ivory Coast livery.
The Observer's subsequent investigation found that the jet had been used by
its then owner, UK pilot Tom Moloney, in airshows across Europe. Because the
plane had been disarmed, it was registered as a civilian plane.
Earlier this year Moloney was approached by Sheffield businessman Jurgen
Morton-Hall. He told Moloney he wanted to buy his Strikemaster and another
similar plane for a company which would use them for film and display work
in South Africa.
Morton-Hall's client was called Strikemaster Films. But although the company
has a London address it was set up specifically to buy the two fighter
planes and was run by two French directors, one of them Jean-Jacques
Fuentes.
Fuentes is a former pilot with the French special forces who worked for
several years as a mercenary. In 1999 he was flying missions for the African
intervention force, Ecomog, in Sierra Leone.
Fuentes told The Observer he had wanted the jets for film work but the deal
collapsed. He was then approached by the Ivory Coast government.
He claims the aircraft will be used for reconnaissance flights and for
training pilots. He insists that the planes are too old to be rearmed.
Yet it is clear the jets will be used by the military in a region facing
huge unrest. According to Amnesty International, refugees from neighbouring
Liberia are pouring into Ivory Coast and many are being indiscriminately
killed by the military.
Despite this, the jets were sold as civilian planes without an export
licence. Had Fuentes applied for a licence, the sale could have been vetoed
by the Department of Trade and Industry.
A DTI spokesman said: 'These are clearly military aircraft which will be
used for military operations and the seller should have obtained export
licences. It is up to Customs and Excise to now investigate the
transaction.'
A spokeswoman for Customs confirmed it would be looking at the case 'very
thoroughly'. Molony and Morton-Hall claim they had no knowledge of the Ivory
Coast deal.
Paul Eavis of the Saferworld think-tank says the case exposes a dangerous
loophole.
He said: 'This case raises serious questions about how many other people
might be undertaking similar activities. The Government must pursue this
case and make sure this type of scandal can't happen again.'
fighter which look likely to be involved in military operations against
civilians and rebels in one of Africa's bloodiest civil wars.
An Observer investigation has revealed a loophole allowing potentially
lethal British military hardware to slip out of the country without official
scrutiny, licence or control.
The sale of the two Strikemaster jets to the Ivory Coast government
discloses a trail which begins with a British air display pilot and ends
with a former commando in the French special forces now plying his trade as
a mercenary in the war-torn state.
It will come as a further embarrassment to the Government following recent
revelations of how British tanks and planes were used by the Indonesian
military to suppress a popular uprising.
The Strikemaster is one of the most successful fighters made in Britain.
Fitted with two machine-guns and wings designed to carry 3,000lb of bombs or
rockets, it is well suited for counter-insurgency, ground attacks and
advanced pilot training.
Its acrobatic displays are popular at airshows. But it is these very
qualities which allowed it to be sold quietly through a Yorkshire aviation
firm to Ivory Coast.
Concerns were first raised in March this year after a plane-spotter
published his photograph of a Strikemaster at a Maltese airport in freshly
painted Ivory Coast livery.
The Observer's subsequent investigation found that the jet had been used by
its then owner, UK pilot Tom Moloney, in airshows across Europe. Because the
plane had been disarmed, it was registered as a civilian plane.
Earlier this year Moloney was approached by Sheffield businessman Jurgen
Morton-Hall. He told Moloney he wanted to buy his Strikemaster and another
similar plane for a company which would use them for film and display work
in South Africa.
Morton-Hall's client was called Strikemaster Films. But although the company
has a London address it was set up specifically to buy the two fighter
planes and was run by two French directors, one of them Jean-Jacques
Fuentes.
Fuentes is a former pilot with the French special forces who worked for
several years as a mercenary. In 1999 he was flying missions for the African
intervention force, Ecomog, in Sierra Leone.
Fuentes told The Observer he had wanted the jets for film work but the deal
collapsed. He was then approached by the Ivory Coast government.
He claims the aircraft will be used for reconnaissance flights and for
training pilots. He insists that the planes are too old to be rearmed.
Yet it is clear the jets will be used by the military in a region facing
huge unrest. According to Amnesty International, refugees from neighbouring
Liberia are pouring into Ivory Coast and many are being indiscriminately
killed by the military.
Despite this, the jets were sold as civilian planes without an export
licence. Had Fuentes applied for a licence, the sale could have been vetoed
by the Department of Trade and Industry.
A DTI spokesman said: 'These are clearly military aircraft which will be
used for military operations and the seller should have obtained export
licences. It is up to Customs and Excise to now investigate the
transaction.'
A spokeswoman for Customs confirmed it would be looking at the case 'very
thoroughly'. Molony and Morton-Hall claim they had no knowledge of the Ivory
Coast deal.
Paul Eavis of the Saferworld think-tank says the case exposes a dangerous
loophole.
He said: 'This case raises serious questions about how many other people
might be undertaking similar activities. The Government must pursue this
case and make sure this type of scandal can't happen again.'