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Blackwater denies hiding weapons
It is being investigated for smuggling weapons into Iraq by shipping them with dog food
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Published: November 16, 2008
RALEIGH - Private security contractor Blackwater Worldwide denied Friday that it has smuggled weapons into Iraq, arguing that its practice of exporting weapons on pallets of dog food is a means to protect the arms from theft.
ABC News, citing unnamed sources, reported Friday that federal prosecutors in North Carolina are investigating whether Blackwater illegally shipped weapons to Iraq by hiding them "in large sacks of dog food."
Blackwater spokeswoman Anne Tyrrell denied that charge, saying the weapons were accounted for in export paperwork. She said guns and other items were put on the inside of pallets next to the dog food bags as common practice to protect them.
"It's not to hide them from U.S. Customs -- it's to prevent corrupt foreign customs agents and shipping workers from stealing the valuables," Tyrrell said, noting that Blackwater has not shipped weapons to Iraq in several years. "The dog food secures the weapons within the packaging."
The company uses the dog food for its bomb-sniffing dogs.
Blackwater, which is based in Moyock, also cited the example of a two-way radio that ABC reported was an unlicensed item found hidden in a dog-food sack. Blackwater said the Commerce Department had determined the radio did not require a license, and that though it was packaged among other items such as dog food it was also clearly listed on the waybill and invoice for the shipment.
Officials in the U.S. attorney's office in Raleigh declined to comment.
Prosecutors have been investigating since last year whether Blackwater improperly shipped weapons overseas.
Little is known about the investigation, which became public when Howard Krongard -- then the State Department's Inspector General -- mentioned that he "made one of my best investigators available to help assistant U.S. attorneys in North Carolina in their investigation into alleged smuggling of weapons into Iraq by a contractor."
In response to both State Department and Justice Department investigations, Blackwater said last month that it had established a panel of defense experts and former prosecutors to ensure it follows U.S. export laws. Blackwater said its growth had created compliance challenges.
"We acknowledge that we have made numerous mistakes in complex and demanding area of export compliance over the years," Tyrrell said Friday. "However, the majority of those violations have been failures of paperwork and timeliness while supporting the United States and its allies, not nefarious smuggling or aid to enemies."
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