Turkey holds suspicious Iranian shipment to Venezuela

Turkey has been investigating a suspicious shipment from Iran to Venezuela. The shipment was labeled tractor parts but Turkish authorities say the shipment contains lab equipment to make explosives.

An Iranian official claims the containers hold nothing of importance. Of course not, just an explosives lab kit for Hizbollah agents operating in Venezuela. International Herald Tribune

ANKARA, Turkey: Turkey was holding a suspicious shipment bound for Venezuela from Iran because it contained lab equipment capable of producing explosives, a customs official said Tuesday.

Suleyman Tosun, a customs official at the Mediterranean port of Mersin, said military experts were asked to examine the material, which was seized last month, and decide whether to let the shipment to go to Venezuela.

Authorities detected the equipment during a search of 22 containers labeled "tractor parts," Tosun said. They were brought to Mersin by trucks from neighboring Iran, he said. Turkey's Interior Ministry said an investigation was under way.