How our chicken man met the CIA

By Chris Daniels

Saji Philips works in a cooped-up world in South Auckland, far away from the secret corridors of the White House.

But he's getting to know as much about hush-hush American matters as he does about the chickens that give him his living.

It might sound like an improbable plot from a Get Smart episode, but Mr Philips is being bombarded with top-secret faxes from American Apec organisers at his Poultry Pride chicken-processing plant in Mangere.

Instead of orders for processed chickens, he is fielding fax messages on security issues such as the installation of White House communications equipment in the Auckland Airport control tower.

"One of them had the name of a military officer with his code name and security number," said Mr Philips.

A flurry of secret information has been sent to the plant in the past few weeks, and when he rang the Americans to tell them he was assured the problem would be fixed.

But just yesterday he was still being sent details relating to next week's arrival of President Bill Clinton.

Names and car registration details of military communications officials have all been sent to Mr Philips, including details of the installation of "White House communications equipment in a strategic position" in the airport's control tower.

"For us it doesn't really matter, but if this fell into the wrong hands, who knows what could happen. It's really quite frightening," he said.

"You would think they would be a lot stricter with these things, considering all the hassles we are having with everything else.

"It's quite funny to us but it really shouldn't happen."

A spokesman for the USAPEC Support Office said checks were being made about the faxes, but could make no further comment.

Mr Philips, meanwhile, is hardly impressed with the impact of Apec on his business. Many of the restaurants he supplies with chickens are closing over the weekend, because few people are expected downtown on September 11 and 12.

"We will lose a lot of business."

His drivers, who deliver the nearly 4000 chickens processed at Poultry Pride each day, are also facing big problems getting to and from the factory and the city.