International hunt to recover stolen engines

PUTRAJAYA (Jan 5, 2010): An international hunt is under way to locate the two F-5E Tiger fighter jet engines stolen from the Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) base in Sungai Besi late 2007 and were last traced to Uruguay.




A special unit from Bukit Aman is working with Interpol and South American counter-terrorism units to determine the buyers and location of the engines.



A Bukit Aman official confirmed that the primary objective is to locate the engines and to prevent them from falling into the wrong hands, especially terrorist organisations.



theSun learnt that the theft has raised concerns in international circles and has alerted several counter-terrorism units in the world, including the United States National Centre for Counter Terrorism.



“The mandate given to the police is to recover the engines and the assignment is given top priority,” said the official.



He also said the international probe is looking into various aspects, including the possibility that the engines were sold to a Middle Eastern country that is subject to sanctions by the United States.



Federal police Criminal Investigations Department director Datuk Seri Bakri Zinin, when met at the Attorney-General’s office in Putrajaya yesterday, declined to say if the buyers of the engines were linked to any terrorist organisations.



It is learnt Northrop of United States, the manufacturers of the F-5E Tiger jets, is aware of the missing engines. Due to the enormous implications of the incident, it is understood the United States National Centre for Counter-Terrorism will step in should the recovery attempts prove difficult.



Yesterday, Attorney-General Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail said the government was working with its foreign counterparts to ensure the engines are recovered as soon as possible.



He had said the engines were brought to the Matra 1 warehouse at the Sungai Besi air base on Nov 1, 2007 before being taken to USJ, Subang Jaya on Dec 30, 2007 and Jan 1, 2008. Police investigations showed that on May 4, 2008, the engines were transferred into a container and shipped to Argentina. They were later transferred to another ship headed for Uruguay.



The air force realised the loss of the two engines on May 22, 2008 and lodged a report on Aug 4 that year after conducting investigations.