Poison Spraying By Copters Plotted Paper Claims Japanese Cult Bought Choppers For Tests

The cult accused of deadly nerve gas attacks on Tokyo’s subways also planned to use helicopters to spray dangerous chemicals from the air, Japanese news reports said Monday.

The reports also linked military personnel and the Japanese underworld with Aum Shinri Kyo, the sect suspected in the March 20 attack on Tokyo’s busy subway system that killed 12 people and sickened 5,500.

Police would confirm none of the reports.

The Asahi newspaper said the cult bought two remote-controlled helicopters in 1993, but they crashed during flights to test their ability to carry enough gas to sicken, and perhaps kill, thousands.

The cult’s top scientist, Hideo Murai, ordered the test flights, Asahi said. Murai was stabbed to death outside the cult’s Tokyo headquarters last month by a man who told police he acted under a gangster’s orders, according to the news reports.

One cult member said Aum produced stimulant drugs that it administered to followers and sold to gangsters to fund the group’s extensive weapons program, Kyodo News Service said.

Kiyohide Hayakawa, a cult leader, told police he imported parts of AK-47 assault rifles to be used as prototypes for the weapons program, NHK public television reported.

The Japanese military also is cracking down on cult involvement within its ranks.

Two soldiers have been discharged, one for staging a firebomb attack March 19 - the day before the subway attack - to distract authorities investigating the cult, another for trying to obtain military information for the group.

The director of Japan’s defense agency, Tokuichiro Tamazawa, on Monday called defense links to the cult “regrettable.”

Police raids on cult offices after the subway gassing uncovered tons of chemicals that could have been used to make lethal nerve gas.

Authorities have arrested most top cult figures, including spiritual leader Shoko Asahara. Erika Iida, 34, another official, was arrested Monday and charged with involvement in cult recruitment and kidnapping.