February 8, 2008:
Singapore has
arrested and indicted an American citizen, Laura Wang-Woodford, for illegally
shipping CH-47 (Chinook) helicopter parts to Iran over the last sixteen years.
Her husband, Brian Woodford (a British citizen) is being sought for
questioning. Wang-Woodford ran a Singapore based company, Monarch Aviation,
that bought aircraft parts in the United States for export to Singapore and
elsewhere. Many of these parts were then smuggled to Iran, which pays far above
market value for items that will keep its 1970s era American aircraft and
helicopters flying. Wang-Woodford is also believed to be involved in smuggling
Chinese made weapons to clients.