A Malaysian company linked to Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi's son has allegedly acted as a conduit for the delivery of a Japanese-made measuring instrument - which can be used to design equipment needed for uranium enrichment.- to Libya.

According to reports by Japanese media, Malaysian toolmaker Scomi Precision Engineering (Scope) had bought the three-dimensional precision measuring instrument from Japan's Mitutoyo Corp in late 2001.

"The device was found in a Libyan nuclear development research facility at the time of International Atomic Energy Agency inspections between December 2003 and January 2004," according to Daily Yomiuri.

Japanese police had raid the Mitutoyo's office in Kawasaki near Tokyo as part of their probe into the company's alleged exports of the instruments without government permission, which violates the country's Foreign Exchange and Foreign Trade Law.

Scope is the subsidiary of oil-and-gas firm Scomi Group, which is owned by Abdullah's son Kamaluddin Ahmad.

According to the Daily Yomiuri, Mitutoyo also sent its engineers to teach Scope staff how to use the device. Later, Scope officials took instructional videotapes to Libya and taught Libyan personnel how to use the tool.

The Japanese government had denied permission for Mitutoyo to export the device as it had the capability to be used in the manufacture of nuclear weapons.

However, investigators said they suspect the company's executives had later decided to illegally export the 3-D measuring tool.

Kamaluddin's ex-business partner

Scope's role in the nuclear trafficking came to light when European intelligence officials intercepted a Libya-bound ship in 2003 and seized five containers that contained centrifuge parts packed in boxes carrying the name Scope.

Officials from the Shah Alam-based company claimed that the parts were components made for the auto, oil and gas industries and that they had no knowledge of the end use of these parts.

Police questioned Kamaluddin's ex-business partner, BSA Tahir - a Sri Lankan national - who is believed to have close links to Abdul Qadeer Khan, a Pakistani nuclear scientist suspected of being the nuclear black market's mastermind.

Three months later, Tahir was arrested under the Internal Security Act, which allows detention without trial.

Malaysian authorities contended that Tahir had misled Scomi executives about the intended use of the centrifuge parts it manufactured.