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Finland Seizes Ship With Patriot Missiles and Explosives Bound For China

Dec. 22, 2011 10:23am Buck Sexton

(The Blaze/AP)– Finnish authorities on Wednesday impounded 160 tons of explosives and 69 surface-to-air missiles found on a British-flagged cargo ship ultimately destined for Shanghai, China, officials said.

The M/S Thor Liberty sailed from the north German port of Emden on Dec. 13 and two days later docked in Kotka, southern Finland, to pick up a cargo of anchor chains, Finnish Customs spokesman Petri Lounatmaa said.

“We have impounded the explosives and missiles and asked the Defense Ministry to transport and store them,” Lounatmaa said. “At this stage we don’t know where it was loaded on the ship or if the Thor Liberty planned a drop before its port of destination in China.”

Investigating officers remain uncertain of the origin of the Patriot missiles or who was supposed to receive them. The ship’s two most senior officers were being interrogated as of Thursday.

According to CBS News, however, a Detective Chief Superintendent in Finland’s Nation Bureau of Investigation, said he didn’t believe the weapons are connected to terrorism., saying “As far as we can make out the shipment was legal,” said Virtanen. “They were not trying to smuggle the missiles… they are destined for South Korea.”

Dock workers found the explosives — picric acid — badly stored on open pallets instead of in closed containers. They alerted inspectors who found the missiles in containers marked as holding fireworks.

Interior Minister Paivi Rasanen said she had not heard of a similar case.

“Of course, there are legal transports of weapons or defense material (through Finland) but in this case the cargo was marked as containing fireworks,” Rasanen told national broadcaster YLE TV. “That is quite unusual.”

Lounatmaa said customs officials and police have launched a joint investigation into a possible breach of Finnish export and weapons trading laws

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Comments (103)

junior1971
Posted on December 22, 2011 at 11:01am
The missiles were headed to China for a unilatteral, joint military operation in Iran. The nwos first unified invasion of a sovereign nation. They will share the spoils of war and then turn on each other initiating the third world war. And there you have it : > )

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- wbalzley
  Posted on December 22, 2011 at 11:09am
  OPINION: I am more inclined to believe that the shipment was intended for the Chinese to reverse engineer our technology. China, Russia, and Iran are preparing for war with the United States…
  
  Report this comment
- wbalzley
  Posted on December 22, 2011 at 11:15am
  2nd Possibility: The United States may be covertly arming the South Koreans in preparation for the upcoming war with China, Russia, and Iran. They aren’t the only ones getting ready…
  
  Report this comment
- RichNGadsden
  Posted on December 22, 2011 at 11:23am
  WBALZLEY, I agree with you on that. I can’t believe the statement above regarding that nothing seemed to be illegal and they found the Patriot missile in a container marked “fireworks!” Obviously we are not getting the whole story, and probably never will. Even if the outermost serial number(s) have been removed, there will be other internal serial numbers that will allow this missile to be tracked to it’s original owner. That nation should be put on a watch list as well as have an outside agency such as a team from the U.S. military conduct an internal audit.
  
  Report this comment
- MR_ANDERSON
  Posted on December 22, 2011 at 12:00pm
  I remember searching vessels before they went into Iraq as per the UN sanctions, and letting Radioactive material stored in ammunition cases pass.
  
  Maybe that’s the evidence Bush had?
  
  Really though, it was just X-Ray medical equipment placed in ammunition cases to screw with us. I’m sure the captains and crews of those vessels thought it was funny.
  
  Report this comment
- corbecket
  Posted on December 22, 2011 at 12:28pm
  @wbalzley
  
  Your second possibility is the one to bet on. The Germans are obviously selling used Patriots to the South Koreans (with US approval of course). This is no secret, as it has been in the public sphere since 2005.
  
  Report this comment
- RichNGadsden
  Posted on December 22, 2011 at 12:35pm
  MR_ANDERSON, Apparently, or conveniently you have failed to remember the 6 tons of yellow cake removed from Iraq a few years ago, or the discovery of the chemical filled munitions, and the facilities that were producing said chemicals. Just because you WANT the rest of us to have our collective heads in our asses certainly does not mean that it is so. Take you fertilizer and go spread it on a liberal forum where the other likes of you will eat it up.
  
  Report this comment
- MrOVW
  Posted on December 22, 2011 at 12:50pm
  Year of the Rat.
  
  Report this comment
- Yeah_Buddy
  Posted on December 22, 2011 at 2:13pm
  Obviously not the ‘safe and sane’ fireworks (see: gay fireworks) they sell here in California.
  
  I hope the heck we don’t get involved in Korea again. Lost a cousin I never met in the ‘Korean conflict’.
  
  Report this comment
scrapadapolis
Posted on December 22, 2011 at 10:59am
I think who was reporting this got it wrong,It didn’t say holding (fireworks),It reads Holders fireworks.fast and furious…Not Frrraaageeeleee.Fragile you moron.

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- wbalzley
  Posted on December 22, 2011 at 11:17am
  Holder’s Fireworks? As in ERIC Holder? The same guy that was responsible for FAST AND FURIOUS? Clever…
  
  Report this comment
momrules
Posted on December 22, 2011 at 10:57am
I don’t know about the rest of you but all the news being reported makes me believe that all the conspiracy theories over the years were not theory but were fact.

Someone has ben planning something big and bad for a very long time.

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- corbecket
  Posted on December 22, 2011 at 11:18am
  Well, just having missiles marked as fireworks, is by definition conspiratorial. However, it doesn’t mean it wasn’t shipped by the good guys. Though Shanghai was the ultimate destination of the ship, that doesn’t mean that it was going there non-stop. It’s quite probable that it had multiple stops planned, as most container ships do, while enroute to the final destination of Shanghai. The cargo was as likely to be dropped off at one of those stops. Good guys or bad guys? It all depends on who shipped it, and who was receiving it. We common folk don’t have that information……yet.
  
  My guess is that the missles were for the good guys, as it is pretty hard to lose control of a whole container of Patriots. It is not unusual at all to have military stuff being shipped covertly. I remember back in the ?60′s? when the US secretly shipped some jet trainer aircraft to an unnamed Easter Bloc country. The containers were NOT stickered as aircraft when they left the US, yet the US was sending them that way, for whatever reason.
  
  Our masters always seem to work in mysterious ways.
  
  Report this comment
- corbecket
  Posted on December 22, 2011 at 11:50am
  After all of five minutes searching the web for news articles, this isn’t mysterious at all. Germany and South Korea have been in talks since at least 2005 on acquiring Patriot missiles and the systems that support them.
  
  Since journalists don’t do their jobs anymore (the term “investigative” is no longer in their thesaurus), these goofy new articles get published with no more than a “copy-paste” on their computer screens. The same goes for blogs that post the articles without comment or research of their own.
  
  Seriously, if I can find all of these articles that pretty clearly explain what was going on, why can’t the folks at “The Blaze” do the same thing? What knits this whole thing together, is that the shipment came out of Germany, and that the ship was to stop in South Korea.
  
  Case closed folks. Nothing to see here. Move along. :-)
  
  Report this comment
- TrailBlazer66
  Posted on December 22, 2011 at 1:11pm
  and having the general public brainwashed to think “conspiracy theory”, is like doing exactly as you please but hiding under the cover of a term…and what is scary is that with our educational system dumbed down and infiltrated by leftists and communists, it was so easy for them to do and get away with i! People you have been deceived big time.
  
  Report this comment
- firstHat
  Posted on December 22, 2011 at 1:56pm
  @corbecket
  why are they not labeled properly?
  
  I remember my father shipping lamp samples to a client in Europe back in the 70′s. The feds turned on him fast because some lamps like them were used in a US fighter plane at the time. He had to fill out tons of paperwork and offer a full explanation. And we are to believe that in 2011 the same level of security shouldn’t exist or that we should blink at a mislabeled shipment of our munitions?
  
  Report this comment
- corbecket
  Posted on December 22, 2011 at 2:29pm
  @firsthat
  
  The reason that your father took heat on mislabeling, is that your father is/was “little people”. I’m not being disrespectful towards your father, but the rules are COMPLETLY different for governments, versus their citizenry. It has always been that way. “Fast And Furious” is but one example. Anyone who expects his masters to behave the same as those they control is living in a dream world.
  
  It has been this way throughout history, and is unlikely to change.
  
  Report this comment
palerider54
Posted on December 22, 2011 at 10:56am
Line the “Senior Officers” up in front of a firing squad, give them 1 minute to tell where the shipment originated from , with the names and signatures required to ship. Keep this tactic up until we get the answers we want. Patriot missiles being shipped to a port in China ? Someone HAS to be shot as a traitor, along with all involved. We should NOT LET THIS INVESTIGATION END. Call your Congressional representatives. DEMAND they look into this and tell them you will be following up with another call right before their election.

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drago
Posted on December 22, 2011 at 10:55am
So folks, how much longer are we going to let this traitor in chief stay in office?…….

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Detroit paperboy
Posted on December 22, 2011 at 10:55am
Ho Ho Ho !!!! Drones for the iranians!!! Patriot missiles for China !!! Assault weapons for mexican cartels!!! Egypt and Lybia for Al queda!!! Its OBAMACLAUSE… On twin 747s…. At 175,000$perhour.. YAY !!!

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- wbalzley
  Posted on December 22, 2011 at 11:11am
  OPINION: Our enemies within are arming our enemies without…
  
  Report this comment
- LOREMIPSUM
  Posted on December 22, 2011 at 2:46pm
  The new bumper sticker, how much for one?
  
  Report this comment
- WakingSheep
  Posted on December 22, 2011 at 3:28pm
  That sums it up pretty much.
  
  Report this comment
- MetalPatriot
  Posted on December 23, 2011 at 10:53pm
  @ Detroit
  
  Lmfao right now. Thanks & Merry Christmas to you! But seriously, that about sums it up.
  
  I’ve noticed that since Glenn has been off Fox that a lot of us (ok, just me) aren’t getting updated on the lies & deception going on. Does anybody here subscribe to his GBTV that thinks it informs as well as the Fox program?
  
  Sorry, I don’t get up at 3 am to here the radio show. When I did, it seemed more like entertainment than the tv program. Just an opinion, not a slam.
  
  Report this comment
bhelmet
Posted on December 22, 2011 at 10:53am
If looks like a duck and walks like a duck – it is a duck for crying out loud. Traitors everywhere – they are playing with our lives and livelihoods. Buckle up.

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- Ruler4You
  Posted on December 22, 2011 at 11:01am
  Now, these wouldn’t be a product of General Electric, would they?
  
  Because GE has been given special dispensation by the government to do business with our enemies.
  
  Report this comment
- Anonymous T. Irrelevant
  Posted on December 22, 2011 at 12:04pm
  I consider GE our enemy already.
  
  Report this comment
singleparent
Posted on December 22, 2011 at 10:53am
How many got through we dont know about?? yep just sit back and watch cause we aint gonna do nutten about it….

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Bill Rowland
Posted on December 22, 2011 at 10:51am
Check Bidens retirement fund fo recentr deposits.

OMG

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- Chuck Stein
  Posted on December 22, 2011 at 10:58am
  Why do you think that Biden was involved? The guy has a problem with his post-cancer-operation brain FOR SURE, but is he really traitorous? If so, I must have missed something.
  
  Report this comment
B-Neil
Posted on December 22, 2011 at 10:48am
I’m so-so-so surprised. This is such a revalation. I’m totally taken aback. Give me a break. This world is so full of sheit, not to forget how Fargened up it is. CARRY ON McDUFF p.s. MERRY CHRISTMAS to all even the atheists

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- Sol Invictus
  Posted on December 22, 2011 at 11:59am
  and a Merry Christmas to you too. By the way…
  Actual Quote: “Lay on, Macduff, and damned be him who first cries ‘Hold! enough!’”
  
  Report this comment
- wellhangingchad
  Posted on December 22, 2011 at 1:08pm
  I actually prefer the quote… “Those farging ice holes! Those cork soaking sons of bastages!”
  
  Report this comment
AnAmerican111
Posted on December 22, 2011 at 10:47am
“They were not trying to smuggle the missiles… they are destined for South Korea.”……………

Could be one of the most stupid statements I have heard since OBUMA last opened his mouth……..

They were in containers marked “Fireworks” and obviously were not on the shipping manifest……………please! someone get a clue

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- Miyegombo Bayartsogt
  Posted on December 22, 2011 at 10:51am
  Just when I’m certain it’s not humanly possible for anyone to be a vacuous as he looks, Alien President opens his mouth and gives me reason to believe.
  
  Report this comment
Gary Fishaholic
Posted on December 22, 2011 at 10:45am
WTF is right what is going on this is crazy! Drones to Iran Patriot missiles to China what’s next this is scary as though things weren’t scary enough already. Why are thing’s happening all the time now with this current POTUS! Definitely something very suspicious and hope we get an answer soon.

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- MetalPatriot
  Posted on December 23, 2011 at 11:02pm
  @ Gary
  
  It is suspicious and it is going on. That’s the answer. The problem is that the few of us that understand this will never have the resources to combat it. We’re being forced into legal slavery or a war that will lead to it.
  
  It would be so helpful if Glenn or some of you educated people here could make a bullet point of all the things that Glenn’s shown and current events that support. We’re not nutjobs, the president and most of Senate ARE traitors. The Fed IS our enemy. Other nations ARE planning our demise.
  
  It isn’t a joke…that’s the spin that’s put on it so that nobody will resist. Well, I and my family resist, so help us God.
  
  Report this comment
IMPEACHBHO
Posted on December 22, 2011 at 10:45am
Sell U.S. soil – check.
Black helicopter – check.
Our best drone – check.
Patriot missiles – check..oops.

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- hvy_gunner_0331
  Posted on December 22, 2011 at 11:04am
  Add to the list:
  Keep the high-speed lanes from Mexico clear of U.S. Law Enforcement.
  
  Report this comment
gwssacredcause
Posted on December 22, 2011 at 10:45am
This does not pass the smell test folks. Like LUKERW and others shipping something labeled fireworks back to China doesn’t even make sense for Communists in the U.S. or China. I wonder if this was a German arms deal.

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BonnieBlueFlag
Posted on December 22, 2011 at 10:43am
The penalty for treason against the USA is death. Biden 2012!

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- TSUNAMI-22
  Posted on December 22, 2011 at 10:50am
  It’s not called “treason” anymore. It’s now called “patriotically challenged”.
  
  Report this comment
- Mateytwo Barreett
  Posted on December 22, 2011 at 12:10pm
  Wait a minute!! According to out AG, Erik Holder, I would think that you would need to have a requiste “state of mind” to be conspiritorial or treasonous. Therefore, as long as you could just focus on the financial gain, not the political, you would be as pure as wind driven snow!!
  
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KickinBack
Posted on December 22, 2011 at 10:38am
I’m surprised it wasn’t a ship full of F-22′s since according to Obama, we don’t need them.

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- Mateytwo Barreett
  Posted on December 22, 2011 at 12:19pm
  Patience- patience!!! Can’t give them all the goodies too fast- the Americans will start to connect the dots. Better that we get the EPA to regulate Lockheed to the extent they will move production to, say Indonesia. From there you just lose a few parts here, pieces there, assemblies in another place.
  
  Report this comment
nobull14
Posted on December 22, 2011 at 10:35am
Something really stinks about this!!!! how could they get patriot missiles -fast and furious all over again?

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- CatB
  Posted on December 22, 2011 at 10:42am
  Better check them for Holders fingerprints.
  
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- dnewton
  Posted on December 23, 2011 at 12:48am
  Somebody probably had to get rid of them because they could not afford the EU carbon tax. You could not fire one without your carbon tax check clearing first.
  
  Report this comment
thekuligs
Posted on December 22, 2011 at 10:35am
So Patriot missiles being carried by a ship with a British flag marked as fireworks headed to China–where is the break down? Who is responsible for this? You know…. probably don’t want to know.

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texasfireguy
Posted on December 22, 2011 at 10:35am
If the missiles are for South Korea, why are they going to Shangai? I am pretty sure that South Korea has a port or two.

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dadsrootbeer
Posted on December 22, 2011 at 10:33am
U.S. Patriot missiles huh. Guess Obammy still is raising money for his campaign since he can’t run on his record he needs more than the billion dollars to brainwash people.

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- CONNIPTION FITZ
  Posted on December 22, 2011 at 10:48am
  Desperate. Insiders say WJ Clinton sold US secrets and stuff to China for whatever reason.
  
  Democrats are not known to be loyal to anything but their own and their backers’ interests.
  
  In the case of Obama, it’s the muslims and Middle East oil interests.
  
  Report this comment
Snowleopard {gallery of cat folks}
Posted on December 22, 2011 at 10:31am
Once again we see the workings for the traitors of the White House at work.

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- neverfinal
  Posted on December 22, 2011 at 3:18pm
  This is the NWO, UN Globalist Elites ready to finalize their plan, to wipe out America and blame it on some one else. Be ready to go.
  
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IAMMADDOG
Posted on December 22, 2011 at 10:30am
Marked as holding fireworks? And this was a legal load? Something is not right here.

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- Mateytwo Barreett
  Posted on December 22, 2011 at 1:15pm
  Knowing a few Finns, I would guess that there was suspicion the crates were filled with- – -”untaxed schnaps”.
  
  Report this comment
randy
Posted on December 22, 2011 at 10:29am
They alerted inspectors who found the missiles in containers marked as holding fireworks.
Too funny…… Fireworks alright!
Where’s Jack Bauer when you need him?

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- 13th Imam
  Posted on December 22, 2011 at 10:38am
  Test fire one in the ship’s hold. They are only sparklers.
  
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- TSUNAMI-22
  Posted on December 22, 2011 at 10:49am
  Probably getting arrested again….oh wait, that was Keifer. Nevermind :)
  
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TSUNAMI-22
Posted on December 22, 2011 at 10:29am
Patriot missiles? WTF?

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- TSUNAMI-22
  Posted on December 22, 2011 at 10:36am
  Is this another case of Obama spreading the wealth to create a “level playing field”? There’s a scary trend coming to light. Iran gets a drone, China gets state of the art intercepting missiles….Iran gets a nuclear weapon……etc.
  
  Report this comment
lukerw
Posted on December 22, 2011 at 10:29am
FireWorks for China? You have to be kidding me!

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- BREORY
  Posted on December 22, 2011 at 10:36am
  Marked as fireworks tells me that they were being shipped hoping that no one would find. Fireworks are not missles. Follow the country who sent these and why were they going to China. This needs to be investigated.
  
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- gwssacredcause
  Posted on December 22, 2011 at 10:58am
  Finland is closer to Russia than to China or South Korea. It is ironic that the Russians make Obama fold on European missile defense and could be getting their hands on Patriot Missiles. I guess one communist is as good as another.
  
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- wbalzley
  Posted on December 22, 2011 at 11:05am
  Once again, this is a PRELUDE to WAR folks. Iran, China, and Russia are all gearing up for war with the United States and its allies. The globalist elite is looking to consoldate power by plunging us all into a third World War. All they need is a trigger event–another Pearl Harbor, or a 9/11 to set it all off. WATCH OUT!
  
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