strange thigs happening in Zimbabwe

[Hawk]

Mar. 9, 2004. 01:00 AM

Zimbabwe nabs `mercenaries'
`Heavily built males,' military gear on plane

Destination of U.S.-registered jet investigated


HARARE?Zimbabwe is holding a U.S.-registered cargo plane that the government says was carrying suspected mercenaries and a cargo of military gear.

The United States said it had no connection with the plane, whose origin and destination remained a mystery.

The aging Boeing 727-100 aircraft was impounded Sunday evening at Harare International Airport "after its owners had made a false declaration of its cargo and crew," Home Affairs Minister Kembo Mohadi said in a statement yesterday.

"The plane was actually carrying 64 suspected mercenaries of various nationalities," Mohadi said, adding an investigation had also found military materiel. Television pictures showed such hardware as satellite telephones, army boots, military knives and sleeping bags.

Authorities said no formal charges had been made, and investigations were under way to establish the identities of passengers and the nature of the trip.

Footage on state television showed a white plane with the code N4610 painted on the body. Passengers and crew, all of them "heavily built males" and most of them white, were taken to a nearby military base for detention, state television said.

In Washington, State Department spokesperson Richard Boucher told reporters: "We have no indication this aircraft is connected to the U.S. government." But a senior U.S. official said the government wanted to complete its checks before definitively ruling out a connection.

The Pentagon also denied a connection with the aircraft. Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe has been in a war of words with the United States and former colonial power Britain, which have accused him of a political crackdown following his victory in 2002 presidential elections which the opposition and Western observers said were flawed.

Mugabe accuses Western powers of attempting to undermine his government in retaliation for his controversial seizure of white-owned farms for distribution to landless blacks.

The plane is registered to Dodson Aviation Inc. of Ottawa, Kan. However, company director Robert Dodson said it had sold the aircraft about a week ago to a "reputable" South African company, Logo Ltd., which was going to use it for "charter flights."

There was no reply at the Pretoria-based company.

REUTERS, ASSOCIATED PRESS