The Nation - News from Dec. 23, 1988

A man who allegedly tried to ship a $1.1-million mainframe computer to a Soviet-bloc country has been arrested in Miami, breaking up a large high-technology smuggling network, the U.S. Customs Service said. Customs said the investigation covered six U.S. cities and eight foreign countries, including Libya, Iran and Iraq. The computer, a Digital Equipment Corp. VAX 8800, has military and civilian applications, and the man was trying to ship it to Bulgaria, the center of computer technology in the Soviet bloc, said Patrick O’Brien, special Customs agent in charge in Miami. The computer can upgrade and control systems that launch and guide ballistic missiles, operate radar or run a mass-transit system, Customs said. It is on a federal list that regulates the export of technologically advanced products.