Operation Coast was a top-secret chemical and biological weapons program instituted by South Africa's minority white government during the apartheid-era. Unlike similar weapons programs in the United States and Soviet Union, Operation Coast was focused less on producing military-grade weapons and more on those amenable to such tasks as assassination, espionage, and the policing of South Africa's majority-black population. For example, some of the weapons researched included anti-fertility drugs that could be covertly distributed in black neighborhoods, and biological weapons designed to effect only blacks.
With the end of apartheid, South Africa's various weapons of mass destruction programs were abolished. However, despite efforts to destroy equipment, stocks, and information from these programs, some still remain, leading to fears that they may find their way into the hands of terrorist networks. In May 2002, Daan Goosen- the former-head of South Africa's biological weapons program- contacted the U.S. FBI and offered to exchange existing bacterial stocks from the program in return for 5 million dollars and immigration permits for him and 19 other associates and their family members. The offer was eventually refused.
