Dutch technology maybe used in weapons of mass destruction

There are indications that Dutch technology was used in weapons of mass destruction or missile programs of Iran, Pakistan and Syria, departing Ministers Lilianne Ploumen for Foreign Trade, Bert Koenders of Foreign Affairs and Klaas Dijkhoff of Defense wrote to the Tweede Kamer, ANP reports.

"In some cases the services received indications about the use of Dutch technology in mass destruction weapons or transmission agents in Iran, Pakistan and Syria", the Ministers wrote to the Tweede Kamer, the lower house of Dutch parliament. In the cases involved, Customs will do a follow-up investigation and the Public Prosecutor may decide to prosecute, according to the Ministers.

The departing Ministers were responding to parliamentary questions from the VVD, asked based on statements made by Onno Eichelsheim, the director of military intelligence agency MIVD. In an interview last month, Eichelsheim said that the MIVD annually blocks a "substantial" number of attempts by "countries of concern" to acquire knowledge and materials for weapons of mass destruction from Dutch companies.

Weapons of mass destruction include chemical, biological and nuclear weapons. Eichelsheim said that the Netherlands is almost a "supermarket for countries that want to develop such weapons".