Iran helicopters: Spain holds eight over 'illegal sale'
Nine helicopters similar to this one have been seized by Spanish police.
Spanish police say they have prevented the illegal sale of nine military transport helicopters to Iran and have detained eight people.
The operation, which took place in Madrid and Barcelona, led to the arrests of five Spanish businessmen and three Iranian nationals, reports say.
As well as the Bell-212 helicopters, police also found spare parts for export to Venezuela, police said.
Iran is banned from buying attack helicopters under UN sanctions.
The five Spanish businessmen are suspected of trying to export the US-made aircraft, while the three Iranians are accused of negotiating the purchase of military material, the AFP news agency reports.
As part of Operation Nam, police raided industrial sites in Madrid and Barcelona where they found the helicopters, reports say.
The total value of the helicopters and spares was 100m euros ($140m), they said.
'Iranians' trip'
The helicopters, which are used to transport troops and military equipment, and spares were being prepared for assembly and disassembly before export to Iran and Venezuela, police said.
"They tried to protect the export sale, which could have resulted in revenue of about 100m euros, under the cover of legal aviation repairs," the statement said.
Police said they found out about the arrival in Spain of the Iranian purchasers who had come to formalise the deal which led to their operation being launched.
The Spanish companies said to be involved are accused of ignoring export requirements by failing to obtain licences for the export of military material for goods that could have military applications, police said.
Under UN sanctions adopted last year, Iran is banned from buying heavy weapons such as attack helicopters and missiles.
Published 13:58 26.05.11
Latest update 13:58 26.05.11
Spanish police stop illegal sale of Israeli military helicopters to Iran
Five Spanish businessmen, three Iranians involved in sale of the helicopters, which is illegal due to UN sanctions on Iran, nabbed by Spanish police.
By Yossi Melman
Tags: Iran US IDF Iran sanctions
Spanish police have arrested eight people who allegedly planned to sell to Iran U.S.-made military transport helicopters that they bought from Israel with U.S. government approval.
Interior Minister Alfredo Perez Rubalcaba said five Spanish businessmen and three Iranians who had come to Spain to finalize the deal have been arrested.
Image grab from video by Spanish Police show a U.S.-made helicopter obtained in Israel, May 26, 2011.
Photo by: AFP
A statement by Spain's interior ministry said nine U.S.-made Bell 212 helicopters were seized in warehouses in Madrid and the northeastern port city of Barcelona. Spare aircraft parts that police say were intended for Venezuela were also confiscated.
It was revealed to Haaretz that Israel's defense ministry had sold the U.S.-made helicopters, which had been in storage after years of use by the Israeli Air Force, to a Spanish businessman named Pedro Matorna, who intended to sell them for fire-fighting services in Spain.
The sale, worth $20 million, was made with U.S. government approval, given that the helicopters were manufactured in the U.S.
The purchase was approved after Matorna's company submitted documents declaring that the helicopters would be sold on for use in fire-fighting services.
When it turned out that the helicopters were unsuitable for this use, the Spanish company looked for another buyer in order to get rid of the stock, planning to sell them on to Iran.
Events indicate that Israel acted properly and in coordination with the U.S. government.
The United Nations has imposed an arms embargo on Iran. Police put the value of the sale at 100 million ($140 million).
If I use something called GOOGLE and the tags "bell 212 spain israel iran" it takes me only 15 seconds to find features from The Jeruzalem Post and Ha'aretz and also Helihub.
Without having to spell Google in full capital letters, the point remains that in the BBC article quoted in the first post on the subject there was absolutely no mention of Israel except in the title, which raised the question of why Israel was mentioned while the whole text body did not even once mention the nation once. Never expected the Iranians to be ready to use mililtary hardware used by the 'hated' Jewish state! They may consider eating pork next....
Foiled again! Don´t you realise it was all a plot to flog the Persians some dodgy choppers from which infected components would then find their way into the entire Iranian Army complement of 300+ helos - trust me, g.earth some bases, they look awesome!
Nah, too far fetched, no-one would believe it: www.elhangardetj.blogspot.com gives more details!
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to find features from The Jeruzalem Post and Ha'aretz and also Helihub. 
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