Spanish leaders of fake country tried to buy arms

An international crime ring operating under the name of an imaginary principality off the coast of Britain tried to acquire arms worth at least $50 million from Russia, Spanish authorities said yesterday. The civil guard cracked an international crime ring last month whose leaders were posing as officials of Sealand - in reality an abandoned military concrete platform in the Thames estuary - and have since been investigating its activities in Spain. Civil guards have now found documents showing members of the ring were trying to buy weapons, apparently destined for Africa and including a MIG fighter.