Nuclear Bomb Plant Earmarked For Libya Found

In October 2003, the Italian Coast Guard intercepted a cargo bound for South Africa of nuclear enrichment centrifuges from Malaysia. The ultimate destination for the shipment was an engineering and manufacturing company in Vanderbijlpark, outside Johannesburg, South Africa. This past September, a police raid of a two-story factory in Vanderbijlpark found elements of a prefabricated uranium enrichment plant and 11 packed freight containers tagged for Libya. According to this report (Free reg.):

Once assembled in Libya, the plant could have produced enough weapons-grade uranium to manufacture several nuclear bombs a year. Delivery of the plant would have greatly accelerated Libya's efforts to develop nuclear weapons.

Interestingly, at the same time that it became apparent what Libya was doing, Muammar Gaddafi decided to renounced his country's pursuit of nuclear weapons.

The South Africa-Libya connection is a previously undetected branch of the global nuclear black market developed and overseen by Pakistani scientist Abdul Qadeer Khan who previously used shadowy means to develop Pakistan's first nuclear bomb.

There's more at the link.