Panama detained a North a North Korean-flagged ship headed to the Panama Canal from Cuba and said Tuesday it was carrying suspected missile equipment hidden under tons of brown sugar, in which the ship's captain tried to commit suicide, Reuters reported.
"We found containers which presumably contain sophisticated missile equipment. That is not allowed. The Panama canal is a canal of peace, not war," Panamanian President Ricardo Martinelli told state radio.
Security experts indicate that there may have been radar equipment or missiles on the ship, but Panama 's security minister Jose Raul Mulino told Reuters it was still unclear whether the cargo contained missiles.
Mulino said Panamanian authorities have been searching the ship since Wednesday and had so far only discovered two containers of military equipment, Reuters reported. The containers were hidden beneath more than 250,000 220-pound bags of sugar,Mulino added.
After Panama began its search, Mulino said the captain became violent, but declined to give more details.
The captain of the vessel reportedly tried to commit suicide after the ship was stopped near the port of Manzanillo on the Atlantic side of the canal. The president said the crew resisted efforts by Panamanian authorities to redirect the Chong Chon Gang ship to Manzanillo and that 35 crew members were detained, Reuters reported
North Korea s under tough sanctions enacted by the United Nations, the United States and the European Union. A U.N. ban on all arms exports is also in place due to its controversial nuclear weapons program.
