Thread: Russian MiG fighter seized at Hong Kong customs

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Russian MiG fighter seized at Hong Kong customs

SIANGANG (Hong Kong), April 5 (RIA Novosti) - Customs officers in Hong Kong have seized an undeclared Russian MiG-29 fighter on board a ship bound for the United States, a leading English-language newspaper said Wednesday.

The South China Morning Post wrote that the aircraft had been found among containers and goods during a routine customs check. The jet fighter was without engines and ammunition and the wing paint in some places had been peeled off, according to a customs official.

Preliminary investigation showed that the plane had been put on the vessel in Ukraine and arrived in Hong Kong for further delivery to the U.S. The ship owners had failed to file the aircraft in a special import license.

This is not the first time Soviet- and Russian-made military aircraft have been confiscated in Hong Kong, China's special administrative region, which enjoys a relatively large degree of autonomy.

In 2000, for example, five Russian fighters sent to China Aviation Industry Supply and Marketing Corporation were confiscated over incorrect paperwork.

The newspaper wrote, referring to its source in the customs body, that the MiG-29 might be put on public display when all the formalities had been settled.