JOHANNESBURG, Sept 7: South Africa seized 11 shipping containers of uranium enrichment material in a raid on a firm run by a man it has charged under laws forbidding nuclear proliferation, a government agency said on Tuesday.

The South African Council for the Non-Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction said the containers were now stored at a safe location and had been sealed by both South African police and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the two agencies would maintain control.

"IAEA inspectors will visit South Africa on a regular basis to inspect nuclear material and related equipment," the council said in a statement. It was the first detailed description of the raid last week by police and other investigators on a small engineering firm that led to charges against 53-year-old Johan Andries Muller Meyer for manufacturing nuclear-related material and exporting goods that could be used to develop nuclear weapons.

"At the premises of Tradef in Engineering, 11 shipping containers were found containing components of a centrifuge uranium enrichment plant as well as related documentation," the council said. "Investigations are still ongoing."

Meyer was remanded in custody until Wednesday when his bail petition will be heard. Last week the United States embassy in Pretoria issued a statement linking him to Libya's nuclear programme.

Mr Meyer was accused of offences between 2000 and 2001 relating to the import and export of a flow-forming lathe without necessary permits. He was also charged with possessing and producing certain components of a centrifuge enrichment plant. -Reuters