The investigation focused quickly on Tahir, who had arranged the BBC China shipment. In November, acting on information from the CIA and its British equivalent, MI6, Malaysian police took Tahir into custody. He provided authorities with an extensive accounting of the network's reach, describing its connections in Spain, Turkey, Switzerland, Germany and Dubai.
He did not disclose the South African connection, but U.S. investigators in Libya had discovered the lathe and a trail of import and export records.
In December 2003, American authorities asked the South African government to look into evidence that Tradefin had supplied Libya with restricted nuclear technology, according to investigative records.
The only evidence the South African police could find was that one lathe had been imported from and later returned to Gulf Technical Industries, which had been implicated by Tahir.
The police inquiries set off alarms with Wisser. He told police later that it "dawned upon [us] that something was quite wrong here."
Still no word came regarding where to ship the cargo containers, which remained stacked in a corner of the factory. When Meyer complained that he still was owed about 15% of his fee, Wisser said he paid his partner about $150,000 from his own pocket.
Wisser also said he urged Meyer to destroy everything. The two-story labyrinth of stainless steel, Wisser said, should be sent to a smelter and melted down. The design drawings from Pakistan, Wisser said, should be committed to "an Easter bonfire."
Meyer was reluctant to destroy a project that belonged to the unknown client, and his lawyer said that Meyer regarded it as "a work of art."
So when police arrived at Tradefin on Sept. 1, they found the 11 shipping containers. They also found five trunks filled with photographs, designs, manuals and other documents -- an unexpected trove of leads.
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Times researcher Nona Yates contributed to this report.
