Meanwhile, work continued in South Africa. By May 2003, the sprawling stainless-steel structure in Meyer's workshop was fully assembled and tested. Wisser's $1-million commission had been paid in full. But Meyer still awaited shipping instructions.
One day that month, two Arabs arrived to inspect the work. They said they were Egyptians, Wisser said. They stayed at a nearby Holiday Inn and spent a week examining and testing the system.
During their visit, Wisser said, Meyer provided a list of questions for the inspectors -- asking, among other things, who was to receive the finished product.
"His questions were never answered," Wisser said during his 10-hour interrogation by German investigators.
Nonetheless, they pressed ahead. The completed system was photographed, then dismantled carefully and packed in sequence into the 11 freight containers so they could be opened in order and the structure reassembled at its destination.
Shortly after the inspectors' visit, another payment arrived in Meyer's South African bank account.
Wisser told German police, "This payment, as an alarmed Meyer told me, came from Libya."
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Sensitive Cargo
On Oct. 4, 2003, a German-registered freighter with the name BBC China painted on its hull left the Suez Canal and entered the Mediterranean Sea. An American spy satellite was tracking its wake.
U.S. intelligence had information that the ship was bound for Libya with sensitive cargo. The Italian coast guard was asked to intercept.
The BBC China was forced to divert to the southern Italian port of Taranto. There, five containers were removed and hauled to a nearby warehouse. Inspection confirmed the U.S. intelligence.
The wooden containers bore the stamp of the Malaysian factory used by the Khan network, and they were packed with thousands of parts and components for centrifuges destined for Libya.
The seizure helped persuade Kadafi to pledge to abandon his nuclear, chemical and biological weapons programs and turn over information about Khan's network to the U.S. and IAEA.
The interception was kept secret for weeks. U.S. and British intelligence agents sought to find out as much as possible about Khan's operation before Kadafi's public announcement of his decision.
