German customs have seized two shipments of military airplane engines from Russia on the grounds that they violate the country's stringent arms trading rules, a news report said Sunday.
Customs stopped the shipment of four turboprop engines for Tu-142 reconnaissance aircraft destined for India and a shipment of MiG-29 fighter jet engines en route to Algeria because they lacked the necessary permits, the weekly news magazine Spiegel reported.
The Tupolev engines, discovered at Hahn airport in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate, are worth $3.3 million, the report said, citing no one. The MiG engines were stopped at Leipzig airport after being serviced in Russia, according to the report, which gave no information on their number or value.
The Indian navy has eight Tu-142 aircraft as part of its maritime surveillance fleet. The large four-engine plane is based on the Tu-95 strategic bomber.
Algeria has more than 30 MiG-29 jets as part of an $8 billion arms deal with Moscow. However, the country famously sent back 15 planes in 2008, citing quality problems.