ROME, Italy (AFP) - Italian authorities seized a container full of weapons, including Kalashnikov assault rifles and plastic explosives bound for the United States from Saudi Arabia in May, press reports said yesterday.

Il Mattino newspaper said that the "arsenal" was discovered during a search of a ship registered to an unnamed ex-Soviet republic, which was travelling from Saudi Arabia to the US east coast.

It was boarded by customs officials in the port of Gioia Tauro in the southern Calabria region. They discovered more than 70 AK-47 assault rifles, plastics used in explosives and launch pads for rockets, the daily said.

Without quoting its sources, the Ansa news agency later reported that "the shipment was permitted, but certain papers were missing from the accompanying documents".
It said that the container could continue its journey as soon as the identification documents had been validated.
An inquiry is under way with the participation of US secret services, Il Mattino said.

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