Zimbabwe Seizes U.S.-Registered Cargo Plane Allegedly Carrying Mercenaries

[NNN0LHI]

http://ap.tbo.com/ap/breaking/MGA13U1PKRD.html

Zimbabwe Seizes U.S.-Registered Cargo Plane Allegedly Carrying Military Equipment, Suspected Mercenaries

HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) - Zimbabwean authorities have seized a U.S.-registered cargo plane carrying 64 "suspected mercenaries" and military equipment, the Home Affairs minister said Monday.

The Boeing 727-100 was detained at Harare's main airport late Sunday after its owners allegedly made "a false declaration of its cargo and crew," Home Affairs Minister Kembo Mahadi said at a news briefing.

"The plane was actually carrying 64 suspected mercenaries of various nationalities," Mohadi said. "Further investigations also revealed that on board was military material."

The plane was moved to a nearby military base for further inquiries, he said.

more

[NNN0LHI]

1. From 2 days ago - US hires mercenaries for Iraq role

http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2004/03/05/1078464637030.html

The US is hiring mercenaries in Chile to replace its soldiers on security duty in Iraq.

A Pentagon contractor has begun recruiting former commandos, other soldiers and seamen, paying them up to $US4000 ($A5300) a month to guard oil wells against attack by insurgents.

Last month Blackwater USA flew a first group of about 60 former commandos, many of whom had trained under the military government of Augusto Pinochet, from Santiago to a 970-hectare training camp in North Carolina.

From there they would be taken to Iraq, where they were expected to stay between six months and a year, the president of Blackwater USA, Gary Jackson, said. "We scour the ends of the earth to find professionals - the Chilean commandos are very, very professional and they fit within the Blackwater system."

more

[Hell Hath No Fury]

2. How lovely...

Good gosh, this is nasty business.

[noonwitch]

3. Mugabe is scum and needs to be removed from power

If his people keep getting hungrier, they will revolt and throw him out of office.

[htuttle]

4. Maybe you haven't noticed...

...but the US is sort of living in a Glass House as far as scummy leaders are concerned.

[mobuto]

5. We're not in Mugabe's league just yet

As far as bad leaders go, there aren't too many worse than Mugabe. Saparmurat Niyazov, Kim Jong Il, and...?

[htuttle]

7. Do we have to be?

Really, can we only look good nowdays when compared to the likes of Kim Jong Il and Stalin? We're SUPPOSED to be better than that. We act as if we are, in any case.

IMHO, we are in no position to criticize other governments when ours is so bad. Once we take care of that, then we can start talking about the state of the rest of the world again. Until then, assuming a holier-than-thou attitude while Bush is still in charge just makes us sound false and hypocritical, and hurts our credibility worse in the long run.

[AP]

10. It's not "criticizing" that the US is doing. We're being the muscle for...

...capital.

Why do we go around the globe throwing our weight around so that a few very rich and powerful corporations and individuals can get richer and more powerful?

[Minstrel Boy]

11. Zimbabwe doesn't play in the United States' league.

I'm not an apologist for Mugabe. I think it's a tragedy his thuggery has tainted his legacy as liberator and nation builder. But Bush's reach far exceeds Mugabe's grasp. The former is a global disaster, the latter merely national.

[NickB79]

26. What does this have to do with Mugabe?

If the plane really was carrying mercenaries and military-grade weapons, any country on the planet would do the same as was done in Zimbabwe. If a planeload of foreign fighters attempted to sneak into the US and was caught, would we do any less?

[Bozvotros]

6. Outsourcing?

Bushco made it clear they thought outsourcing was good for the economy and apparently it works well with war and destabilization efforts too.

[donsu]

8. is the bushgang paying these mercenaries the same as our troops?

is Halliburton feeding them?

is the money spent on these mercenaries in the budget or does it come out of secret funds?

[Bozvotros]

9. Negative on the payscale

Probably a fraction and with foreign mercenaries they can waive age limits. And certainly there will be no disability benefits to worry about. Halliburton won't have to feed them but they will probably allow them to count those heads in their cost plus contract.

[ParanoidPat]

28. From the second line of the article cited in post # 1.......

......"A Pentagon contractor has begun recruiting former commandos, other soldiers and seamen, paying them up to $US4000 ($A5300) a month to guard oil wells against attack by insurgents."

So now for the 'fuzzy math' lesson,

If a Pentagon contractor is paying it's mercenaries $1,000 a week each how much more is the contractor charging the Pentagon with markup than the Pentagon pays for its own soldiers? :shrug:

Please show all of your work on a separate sheet of paper. :)

For extra credit,

If a CIA transport with 67 mercenaries takes off from a dirt field in Florida and flies east at 527 knots and an Air Force transport with 29 "transfer tubes" takes off from a base in Germany and flies west at 543 knots, how many dollars in campaign contributions will George Bush* collect before the press notices either plane? :evilfrown:

[Jose Diablo]

39. The money is coming from the $87B just authorized by congress

along with paying for the suppression of free speach in Miami a few months back.

Make no mistake, it is not just the republicans in congress, the democrats also have subverted our constitution and freedom around the world.

We need to flush the toilet this November on ALL the crooks in congress and the administration.

[wjittermoss]

12. Think: Venezuela, Haiti, Iraq We are destablizing every country we don't

like and then we will blame it on the so-called "terrorists" or communist sympathizers. This Iran and Cuba.

Perpetual empire with fear and loathing as its base.

"Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe has been engaged in a bitter war of words with both the United States and Britain, which have accused him of a political crackdown following his victory in the 2002 presidential elections, which the opposition and Western observers said were flawed.

Mugabe in turn accuses Western powers of attempting to undermine his government in retaliation for his controversial seizure of white-owned farms for distribution to landless blacks." More from the news story.

[nolabels]

13. This seems a WOW to me

If your a nekid aggressor, and somebody grabs your stuff, it would seem an embarrassment. The plane with China was bad, but this country has a lot less resources on hand to position themselves. What next?

[Robb]

14. Here's some weirdness to this story....

The Reuters piece says the N-number was visible (N4610), they looked it up:

"U.S. Federal Aviation Administration records show N4610 to be a 727 plane registered to Dodson Aviation Inc. based in Ottawa, Kansas. Dodson Aviation said it sold the plane in question about a week ago to an African company called Logo Ltd."

This is all true... but I'm wondering how long Dodson had that 727 in their inventory... about 8 months, if their http://www.dodson.com/">June 2003 archive.org page, where the aircraft isn't listed for sale, it to be believed.

What's more interesting is another 727 they have in inventory still (if you check their current page) that they've had for sale since at least http://www.dodson.com/81boeing727.htm">May of 2000.

How did they manage to move one in 8 months when they've had another for four years or longer? Who the hell is "Logo Ltd", where did they get 4 or 5 million dollars to buy a jet, and why can't I find them on the internet? :shrug:

[NNN0LHI]

15. Have you ever heard of Air America? Google "Air America+CIA" once

http://www.cia.gov/csi/studies/winter99-00/art7.html

<snip>The story of the real Air America begins in 1950, when the CIA decided that it required an air transport capability to conduct covert operations in Asia in support of US policy objectives. In August 1950, the Agency secretly purchased the assets of Civil Air Transport (CAT), an airline that had been started in China after World War II by Gen. Claire L. Chennault and Whiting Willauer. CAT would continue to fly commercial routes throughout Asia, acting in every way as a privately owned commercial airline. At the same time, under the corporate guise of CAT Incorporated, it provided airplanes and crews for secret intelligence operations. 7

In the 1950s, the CIA's air proprietary, as it was known in the lexicon of intelligence, was used for a variety of covert missions. During the Korean war, for example, it made more than 100 hazardous overflights of mainland China, airdropping agents and supplies.

[Robb]

16. HA!!! GOT 'EM!!!

Scroll down in this Google cache:

Serial # 18811 727 035 Ê

N4610

First flight: 15/10/64
Delivery: 31/10/85
Operated by: US AIR FORCE Ê

On edit: this google cache claims 18811 was scrapped by Dodson. :eyes:

[AZCat]

17. The original page is still up, with the same info

Link here:
http://www.jetairliners.com/boeing/727a.htm

Info (transcribed by me)

LN: 85
MSN: 18811
Model: 727
Type: 035
Cvtd as:
Registration: N4610
First Flight: 15/10/64
Delivery: 31/10/85
Operated by: US AIR FORCE
Name or Fleet Number:
Engines: PW JT8D-7B
Leased to:
As:
Leased from:
Ex Operators: NAL/PAA
Other Information: STD / Boeing C-22B
Previous Registrations: 83-4610
End of Life:

[Robb]

19. Good grief, here's 83-4610

...on static display at Andrews! :wow:

[AZCat]

24. Yeah... Dodson bought it from the AF

The second page you found in the google cache (the one that lists N6410 as scrapped) also shows N6410 as purchased from the Air Force, and the FAA certificate for N6410 was issued on 05/22/2002.

N6410 scrapped page:
http://www.jetphotos.net/census/listing.php?model=B727

FAA certificate info page (you have to do a search by N-number):
http://162.58.35.241/acdatabase/acmain.htm

[Robb]

25. What doesn't make sense...

...here I've got it listed as:

Boeing C-22B
Ex-commercial 727-100 operated by ANG
4610 (c/n 18811) was formerly N4610 of National Airlines. Sold Jan 11, 2002 to Dodson International
Parts, inc and then to Dodson Aviation Jan 14, 2002. Registered to Dodson Aviation as N4620.

...Why did Dodson never advertize it was for sale? And why did the tail number change after Dodson registered it? Or is that a typo?

On edit: FAA has N4620 as a completely different deregistered 727-35... :crazy:

[AZCat]

27. Typo, I'm pretty sure

The FAA page lists this for N4620:

N4620 is Deregistered

Serial Number: 19165
Manufacturer Name: BOEING
Model: 727-35
Year Manufacturer: None
Reason for Cancellation: Unknown
Type Registration: Unknown
Certificate Issue Date: None
Mode S Code: 51321541
Cancel Date: None
Exported To:

The Serial Number for N4610 is 18811 so I am pretty sure that this is a typo.

[TacticalPeek]

18. Perhaps Eugene Hasenfus scrapped it for them?

http://nwcitizen.us/wic/Quickly/WherearetheynowEugeneHase.html

[AZCat]

22. More info on Dodson Aviation...

Here is the FAA info on the plane (as of today):
web site (use N-number): http://162.58.35.241/acdatabase/acmain.htm

Serial Number 18811
Type Registration Corporation
Manufacturer Name BOEING
Certificate Issue Date 05/22/2002
Model 727-35 Status Valid
Type Aircraft Fixed Wing Multi-Engine
Type Engine Turbo-Jet
Pending Number Change None
Dealer No
Date Change Authorized None
Mode S Code 51317652
MFR Year None
Fractional Owner NO


Registered Owner

Name DODSON AVIATION INC
Street 2110 MONTANA RD
City OTTAWA
State KANSAS
Zip Code 66067-8518
County FRANKLIN
Country UNITED STATES

Dodson was one of the defendants in a case concerning the potential purchase of two airplanes by Air Military Transport of Ecuador ("TAME"). Dodson was found guilty of fraud by silence (bribes were offered by TAME).
Link here: http://www.kscourts.org/ca10/cases/2004/01/02-3080.htm

One of the other defendants is a Robert L. Dodson, Jr. I am looking for info on him now.

[AP]

23. Earlier article said it was a 727-100, so that's bad info, I guess.

[Art_from_Ark]

33. Maybe Logo Ltd. is one of those "fly by night" companies

[indepat]

20. Hopefully they will be treated humanely

[AP]

21. If they treat them like they're treating Tsvengerai, they'll get a fair...

...trial with no rush to judgment.

[bvar22]

36. I believe that a precedent has been set to brand them...

...as ENEMY COMBATANTS and hold them incommunicado forever.

[dArKeR]

29. A group of South African "mercenaries" were believed to be aboard

Mystery shrouds Boeing seized by Zimbabwe
08/03/2004 23:06  - (SA)  

Erica Gibson



Harare - A group of South African "mercenaries" were believed to be aboard a Boeing 727-100 seized by Zimbabwe at Harare International Airport.

Zimbabwe home affairs minister Kembo Mohadi said on Monday a United States-registered aircraft, carrying military equipment and 64 suspected mercenaries, had been impounded by Zimbabwe authorities on Sunday.

The men are believed to have been arrested, and the aircraft taken to Manyame airport base outside Harare.

Information about the men and the aircraft was scarce on Monday night, but intelligence sources told Beeld the aircraft was possibly on its way to West Africa.

The flight can possibly be connected with an imminent coup de etat in Malabo, the capital of Equatorial Guinea.

http://www.news24.com/News24/South_Africa/News/0,,2-7-1442_1495367,00.html

[hedgetrimmer]

30. WOW! They are even outsourcing mercenary jobs... what next?

What I wonder is, How hard would it be for "hired mercenaries" to become active in the states? (can-o'-worms)

[nolabels]

31. They already have, it's spelled out R - N - C & G - O - P

<title>A Guide to Safety in Wartime



After exposure to radiation it is important to consider that you may have mutated to gigantic dimensions: watch your head.

http://object.qpalzm.com/fun/safety/

[hedgetrimmer]

32. ha HA!

[I AM SPARTACUS]

34. umm...WHERE was Homeland Security if a 727 sorta disappeared from Kansas?

...I mean, a 727, just kinda "sold last week"...umm, what if someone wanted to BUY a 727 and fly it into, what? some large building or installation in the US...with all this Homeland Security, especially around LARGE JETS, how does a 727 get sold to a company that can't be traced...???

[Robb]

37. VERY good question...

from this update:

Reached by phone late Monday, the company president J.R. Dodson said the plane was sold days ago to a "reputable" South African company named Logo Ltd. He could provide little more information, other than to say the aircraft was built in the 1960s and was "in very good condition."

Dodson also said that, as far as he was aware, the plane was sold in the U.S., and the purchasers themselves would have arranged to have it flown it out of the country.

[Judi Lynn]

35. HARARE: US CARGO PLANE WITH “MERCENARIES” ONBOARD BCOMES A POLITICAL CASE

ZIMBABWE 9/3/2004 12:20
HARARE: US CARGO PLANE WITH “MERCENARIES” ONBOARD BCOMES A POLITICAL CASE
Politics/Economy, Standard


The episode of the US-registered cargo plane blocked and impounded on Sunday by Zimbabwe authorities, because found with 64 suspected “mercenaries”, for the most part white, and “military material”, is turning into a political case. Yesterday in a statement to the press, Zimbabwe Home Affairs Minister Kembo Mohadi stated that the blocked cargo plane, a Boeing 727/100, resulted to be registered in the United States. Anonymous sources of the US State Department in the afternoon denied to the Italian ANSA and other international news agencies that the craft was registered in the US. However, later in the day the Zimbabwean State TV showed some pictures of the material found in the craft (more than arms, the images show equipment such as sledgehammers, bolt cutters, walkie-talkies, loudhailers, sleeping bags and heavy duty boots) and the tail number of a white plane N4610. According to US Federal Aviation Administration records, N4610 is a 727 registered to Dodson Aviation Inc. based in Ottawa, Kansas (US), which claims to have sold the craft in question only a week ago to the African Logo Ltd. Company. A few hours from the declarations of American aviation authorities, also the US State Department intervened on the episode, correcting indiscretions leaked during the day. In speaking to the press, State Department spokesman Richard Boucher did not exclude that the craft could be registered in the US, but only on a private title, making it evident that supplementary information is still attended from the local US Embassy, which for the moment has not released any comment. Boucher however added that there is also “no indication that the plane is linked to the American government” and denied any information on the arrest of American citizens in Zimbabwe. The Zimbabwean Home Affairs Minister announced that an inquiry has been opened into the episode and that only at the conclusion of the investigation will some still unclear aspects be disclosed, such as the real identity of the men found onboard the craft and “their final destination”. Meanwhile, in Pretoria (South Africa) the deputy foreign Minister Aziz Pahad expressed concern over the “still unconfirmed information that some of the 64 alleged mercenaries are South Africans”. “If these claims should be true – added Pahad – it would be a serious violation of the law on foreign assistance abroad, which bans South Africans from participating in any military activities outside South Africa without specific authorisation”.
(snip/...)

http://www.misna.org/news.asp?lng=1&id=108032

[nolabels]

41. Plane left SA illegally

http://www.sabcnews.com/africa/southern_africa/0,2172,75504,00.html

Shortly before it left from the hangar of Dodson's International Parts (SA) Pty Ltd, a bus-load of men reportedly boarded the plane. It is believed the aircraft arrived in South Africa on Saturday from an unknown destination.

The ownership of the aircraft is also in dispute.

The aircraft, bearing the US registration number N4610, is registered to the Kansas-based Dodson Aviation Inc., but a Dodson official said the company sold the plane about a week ago to an African company called Logo Ltd. Local aviation enthusiasts are not aware of such a company anywhere in Africa.

Meanwhile, foreign affairs spokesman Ronnie Mamoepa said South African High Commissioner to Zimbabwe Jerry Ndou, who was to meet Zimbabwean officials to discuss and investigate the incident on Tuesday, had not done so by noon.

There are allegations that among the 64 men on board are South Africans, which could put them in breach of South Africa's Foreign Military Assistance Act. The Act prohibits the involvement of South Africans in military activities outside South Africa without authorisation from the National Conventional Arms Control Committee. - Sapa
(snip)

[Robb]

38. Hey, look, Richard Boucher tells a lie:

???eage.com.au/articles/2004/03/09/1078594359852.html|right here]:

The United States has said it had no indication that a plane seized by Zimbabwe and described by Harare officials as carrying suspected mercenaries and military cargo was connected to the American Government.

(except that, at a minimum, it was a USAF plane based at Andrews as late as 2002....)

US State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said on Monday that he could not confirm statements by Zimbabwean officials that it was a US-registered plane.

(except he could look at the wire photo...)
http://www.theage.com.au/ffximage/2004/03/09/10HARARE_R,0.jpg

[Turley]

40. Reuters reports plane was headed to DRC for mining security detail

15:06 09Mar2004 RTRS-ZIMBABWE "MERCENARY" PLANE WAS BOUND FOR CONGO MINE SECURITY WORK-PLANE OPERATOR
15:19 09Mar2004 RTRS-"Mercenary" plane was bound for Congo -operator

JOHANNESBURG, March 9 (Reuters) - A plane seized in Zimbabwe carrying 64 people the Harare government said were "suspected mercenaries" was bound for the Democratic Republic of Congo for mine security work, its operator said on Tuesday.
"They were going to eastern DRC. They stopped in Zimbabwe to pick up mining equipment, Zimbabwe being a vastly cheaper place for such," said Charles Burrow, a senior executive of Logo Logistics Ltd which chartered the plane.
He told Reuters by telephone from London that most of the people on board had military experience.
((Johannesburg Newsroom [phone]))

For Related News, Double Click on one of these codes:

Tuesday, 09 March 2004 15:06:41
RTRS {EN}
ENDS

[AP]

42. Why'd they lie about what they were carrying? And why do guards need

bolt cutters? Also, why does the article say that Logo "chartered' the plane, while Dobson says they sold the plane to Logo?

And, of course, it would be unusual for people engaged in criminal activities to lie about their intentions.

Here's the longest article I've seen so far on this: http://iafrica.com/news/sa/308483.htm

[nolabels]

43. Here is another , maybe a little longer also

http://www.cnsnews.com/ViewForeignBureaus.asp?Page=%5CForeignBureaus%5Carchive%5C200403%5CFOR20040309a.html

US Plane Used by 'Mercenaries' in Zimbabwe Sold to South Africans
By Patrick Goodenough
CNSNews.com Pacific Rim Bureau Chief
March 09, 2004

(CNSNews.com) - An aircraft impounded in Zimbabwe and said to be carrying dozens of "suspected mercenaries" was sold by a U.S. aviation firm to a "reputable" South African company just days ago.
The State Department said Monday there was no indication that the Boeing 727 was registered in the U.S. - as Zimbabwe claims - or that it was connected to the U.S. government.
(snip)
(snip)
David Isenberg, a senior analyst with the British-American Security Information Council, has for years researched the activities of PMCs.

Speaking by phone from Washington Monday, he differentiated between three different types of organizations - "a very small portion of the industry" involved directly in combat, like the shut-down Executive Outcomes; combat support firms, providing intelligence support, logistics or military facilities in places like Colombia and the Balkans; and then other groups providing personnel bodyguard services, securing oil pipelines etc.

"It's always been the smaller groups who have gone out and done the actual fighting," he said, although employees of bigger groups not directly involved in fighting also faced risks in combat zones.
(snip)

[Turley]

44. I dunno AP

I don't have the slightest clue what's going on over there. Just thought I'd post a fresh Reuters story which wasn't available on the web yet. Interesting little drama unfolding though, dontcha think?