Apprehended At SFO In December

Federal authorities revealed last week a woman suspected of selling sensitive military technology to Iran and China was apprehended in December 2007 at San Francisco International Airport.

Citing court documents and an unnamed government official, ABC News reports Laura Wang-Woodford was arrested at SFO December 23, as she returned to the United States to ostensibly visit her elderly mother for the holidays. That celebration never happened; customs agents met her flight from Singapore, and took Wang-Woodford into custody.

Wang-Woodford runs a business in Singapore called Monarch Aviation. Agencies including the FBI, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement, say she has used the business as a front to sell millions of dollars' worth of munitions over the past 16 years.

According to a 2003 federal indictment, Wang-Woodford and her husband, British national Brian Woodford, sold sensitive technology to Iran through Monarch. One official present at Wang-Woodford's apprehension at SFO said she had several documents relating to recent deals through Monarch, as well as a catalogue of surface-to-air missiles and rocket launchers, and information related to Chinese missile systems.

"An examination of the defendant's luggage revealed two merchandise catalogues from the China National Precision Machinery Import and Export Corporation ("CPMIEC")," reads a letter filed with New York District Court. "The United States Treasury Department has specifically designated CPMIEC as a Weapons of Mass Destruction proliferator. Due to this designation, all United States persons and entities are strictly prohibited from engaging in business with CPMIEC."

The letter also details Monarch's alleged sales of banned technology to Iran, including parts for Chinook helicopters and other equipment. "Specifically, the defendant illegally exported vane assemblies and bevel gears which are designed for Chinook military helicopters," it says.

Officials also assert in the letter, "Monarch has been in the lucrative import/export business in Singapore for over fifteen years, and during that period is known to have exported goods worth millions of dollars."

The indictment adds the Woodfords used aviation-related businesses in Connecticut, Missouri, and Texas to sell aircraft parts to Monarch... which subsequently re-exported that equipment to Iran, without obtaining required licenses... as far back as 1998, though officials believe the sales go back much further.

"As part of the charged conspiracy, the defendants falsely listed Monarch in Singapore as the ultimate recipient of the parts on export documents filed with the US government," according to a US District Court release. "The aircraft parts allegedly exported to Iran include aircraft shields, shears, "o" rings, and switch assemblies."

On Friday, Woodford pleaded not guilty to all charges, and was ordered to be detained without bail by United States Magistrate Judge Viktor Pohorelsky. Authorities are still working to locate Brian Woodford.

FMI: www.ice.gov, www.flysfo.com