Alcolac, the Baltimore company, pleaded guilty in 1989 to federal export violations involving shipments of chemicals that could be used by Iraq to make mustard gas.

Early projects involved shipments of livestock, but during the 1980s Partners In Aid policies expanded to include community health and economic development.

They say the weapons work never stopped, a judgment made public last year in a German court case involving shipments of banned technology to Tehran.

Moreover, the number of incidents involving shipments of heroin intermingled with cocaine in commercial shipping containers has increased.

Noting that the program involved shipments of antitank missiles, Senator Nunn said: "If that's a diplomatic activity, the State Department ought to get a new kind of uniform."

The practice involves excessive shipments to wholesalers and often results in returned inventory or stale products.

It provided the legal basis for several weapons deals with Iran involving direct shipments from the United States.

A third case involves shipments of antitank guns to some 30 to 40 unauthorized countries from 1963 to 1984 by way of Britain, which was licensed to manufacture the weapons.

US attorney Andrew Maloney, in charge of the case, said the sanctions-busting conspiracy involved shipments of weapons from Eastern Europe via America to Iraq.

Another scandal that has seized the attention of the country involves illegal shipments of Argentine weapons to Ecuador and Croatia between 1991 and 1995.