Pakistan nuke smuggling ring accused again

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, June 15 (UPI) -- U.S. and U.N. investigators say a busted Pakistani nuclear smuggling ring trafficked in much more advanced bomb designs than previously thought.

The operation led by Abdul Qadeer Khan, a Pakistani scientist considered the father of the country's nuclear program, had designs for a compact nuclear device that could be loaded onto an Iranian missile, The New York Times reported Sunday.

However, it's not known whether Khan sold the designs to Iran or anyone else, investigators told the newspaper.

The discovery was made when documents found in the possession of a Swiss collaborator of the Khan network were found and destroyed. The bomb design was in electronic form, so it's unknown how many digital copies of it may be in circulation, the Times reported.

The smuggling ring was discovered and broken up in 2004, and Khan has been under loose house arrest in Pakistan ever since. The Pakistani government did not allow him to interviewed in the latest investigation, the newspaper said, and in public statements, government officials have insisted the Khan case is closed.

The Times said a senior Pakistani official in April called the new charges against Khan "vague and incomplete."