Lahore, Dec 17: A British customs agent who investigated the nuclear smuggling network of Pakistan nuke scientist Abdul Qadeer Khan has now become the target of a British criminal probe.

The agent became a target after being prominently featured in a book by American researchers, according to a report in the the Washington Post.

According to the daily, last week, British authorities searched Atif Amin’s house and car with warrants alleging violations of the country’s Official Secrets Act.

Authors of “America and the Islamic Bomb”, David Armstrong and Joseph Trento, have contended that Western intelligence agencies had advertently allowed the smuggling ring to operate for years before moving to shut it down.

“It’s a story Washington and London do not want out, ” the Washington Post quoted Armstrong, as saying.

“If Amin can be discredited, it would distract the public from the fact that the US and Britain prevented the most dangerous nuclear smuggling operation in history from being shut down when the opportunity existed, ” he added.

“They knew exactly what was going on all the time, ” Amin is quoted as saying. “If they’d wanted to, they could have blown the whistle on this long ago. ” (ANI)