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November 2006
SELECT ICE ARMS & STRATEGIC TECHNOLOGY INVESTIGATIONS
One of the highest priorities of U.S. Immigration and Customs
Enforcement (ICE) and the Department of Homeland Security is to prevent
terrorist groups and hostile nations from illegally obtaining U.S.
military products and sensitive technology, including weapons of mass
destruction components. ICE’s Arms and Strategic Technology
Investigations (ASTI) Unit is responsible for investigating such
violations. In fiscal year 2006, ICE’s ASTI Unit made 144 arrests,
obtained 128 indictments and received 98 convictions.
Through an industry outreach program entitled, “Project Shield
America,” ICE’s ASTI Unit is also visiting U.S. manufacturers of arms
and sensitive technology to educate them about export laws and to
solicit their assistance in preventing illegal foreign acquisition of
their products. Since late 2001, ICE agents have conducted more than
13,600 industry outreach presentations, resulting in tips that have led
to ICE criminal investigations nationwide and worldwide. Some recent
illegal export investigations by ICE include:
- Arms and Munitions destined to Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam:
Beginning in March 2004, ICE undercover agents negotiated with Haji
Subandi and his associates to illegally supply restricted military
items to Iran, Vietnam, Laos, Indonesia, and Sri Lanka. In April 2006,
Subandi began negotiating on behalf of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil
Eelam (LTTE) for the purchase and export of weapons and ammunition. The
LTTE is a Department of State designated foreign terrorist
organization. ICE undercover agents subsequently received an extensive
list of machine guns, handguns, sniper rifles, ammunition, grenades,
and night vision equipment requested by the LTTE valued at over $3
million. In August 2006, a Subandi business associate traveled from
Singapore to Baltimore to view the weapons requested by the LTTE, on
behalf of Subandi. On September 22, 2006, SAC Baltimore undercover
agents, posing as international arms brokers, met with Subandi and his
business associates in Guam and successfully flashed two night vision
goggles and one Eotech gun sight. On September 28, 2006, ICE agents, in
conjunction with agents from the FBI, the Defense Criminal
Investigative Service, and the Naval Criminal Investigative Service,
arrested Subandi and two of his associates pursuant to the undercover
negotiations. The following day, three additional co-conspirators were
also arrested in Guam. To date, six persons have been indicted in the
investigation for charges that included 22 USC 2778, conspiracy to
violate the Arms Export Control Act; 18 USC 2339(B), providing material
support to a designated foreign terrorist organization; 18 USC 1956,
money laundering; 18 USC 371, conspiracy; and 18 USC 2, aiding and
abetting. Also, more than $700,000.00 in currency has been seized.
- U.S. Fighter Jet and Helicopter Components to China-
On February 9, 2006, pursuant to an ICE investigation, Ko-Suen Moo and
Maurice Serge Voros, a French national currently living in France ,
were indicted by a federal grand jury in the Southern District of
Florida for conspiracy to export defense articles to the People's
Republic of China (PRC). Both Moo and Voros were indicted for violation
of 18 USC 371: conspiracy; 22 USC 2778: Arms Export Control Act (AECA);
22 CFR 129.2(a): brokering the sale and transfer of defense articles;
18 USC 1956(a): financial transaction involving proceeds of unlawful
activity; 18 USC 1956(h): conspiring to commit a money laundering
offense; and 18 USC 981 (a)(1)(C) and 982 (a)(1): forfeiture of all
real and personal property and proceeds involved in the offense. In
March 2004, ICE Fort Lauderdale developed information that Moo and
Voros were allegedly seeking to acquire controlled technology for
export to the PRC. Pursuant to several undercover meetings, ICE agents
determined that Moo and Voros were attempting to acquire F-16 military
aircraft engines, Black Hawk helicopter engines, air-to-ground cruise
missiles capable of delivering a nuclear warhead, and air-to-air
missiles for export from the United States to China without an export
license. In November 2005, Moo arrived from Taiwan and ICE undercover
agents showed him several F-16 military fighter aircraft engines at
Homestead Air Force Base in Homestead , FL. Subsequently, Moo wire
transferred approximately $140,000 to an ICE undercover bank account to
cover the transportation costs of the engine. Following the wire
transfer of funds, ICE arrested Moo. Further, Moo attempted bribe
public officials to extricate himself from his legal situation. As a
result, Moo caused approximately $200,000 in a bribe payment to be
deposited into an ICE undercover bank account. On May 17, 2006, Moo
entered a guilty plea in U.S. District Court, Southern District of
Florida to 18 USC 951: acting as a covert agent of a foreign government
(People's Republic of China; 22 USC 2778: Arms Export Control Act
(AECA); 18 USC 371: conspiracy; and 18 USC 201 (b)(1)A): bribery of
public official and forfeited approximately $344,000. On July 25, 2006,
Moo was sentenced to 78 months in prison and fined $1,000,000.00.
- U.S. Military Aircraft Parts to Indonesia- - In
April 2005, ICE Detroit and the Defense Criminal Investigative Service
initiated an investigation of an Indonesian-based company, Indodial,
that was attempting to identify companies that would sell military
aircraft parts for export to Indonesia. On June 23, 2005, undercover
ICE agents met in London with Ibrahim Amran of Indodial to discuss the
purchase and export of military aircraft parts to Indonesia. Amran
subsequently agreed to purchase F-5 and OV-10 military aircraft parts
from ICE undercover agents. On December 13, 2005, ICE undercover agents
met with Amran and Amran’s business partner, Hadianto Djuliarso, in
Detroit to finalize the sale and shipment of the military aircraft
parts to Indonesia via Singapore. Djuliarso and Amran agreed to buy and
ship the military aircraft parts without an export license to
Indonesia. In addition, Amran requested price quotes from the
undercover agents for Heckler & Koch MP-5 submachine guns,
handguns, and sniper rifles. On April 9, 2006, following an additional
undercover meeting to finalize the purchase and export of the military
aircraft parts to Indonesia, ICE agents arrested Djuliarso and Amran
for violations of 18 USC 371: Conspiracy to Violate the Arms Export
Control Act (AECA); and 18 USC 1956: Conspiracy to Launder Money. Plea
negotiations are ongoing.
- U.S. Military Aircraft Parts to Thailand-
In October 2004, ICE San Diego agents developed information regarding
the possible illegal export of United States Munitions List items by
Air Harbor Services of Costa Mesa, California. The owners of Air Harbor
Services are Dave and Ali Talebi, who are of Iranian descent. Export
records indicated that Air Harbor Services had made several
international shipments over the previous year. ICE San Diego agents
initiated undercover contact with Air Harbor Services, and negotiated
for the sale of military aircraft parts that the Talebi brothers
believed were to be exported from the United States to Thailand.
Following the negotiations, the Talebi brothers attempted to export the
aircraft parts to Thailand without obtaining the requisite Department
of State export license. ICE SAC/San Diego agents made five undercover
purchases of military aircraft parts from the Talebi brothers. These
purchases led to the seizure of 36 military aircraft parts with a total
value of approximately $73,000. On February 14, 2006, the Talebi
brothers pled guilty in the Southern District of California for
violating the 22 USC 2778(c): Arms Export Control Act; 22 CFR, Sections
127.1 (a) (3): conspiracy to export defense articles without a license
and 28 USC 2461(c): criminal forfeiture. The Talebi brothers agreed to
criminally forfeit $69,800.00 to the Treasury Forfeiture Fund.
- U.S. Aircraft Parts to Iran- In September 2004,
ICE Los Angeles agents obtained information that individuals in Iran
were attempting to obtain pressure sensors used in black box data
recording devices for aircraft. Agents initiated an undercover sale of
the pressure sensors to one of the individuals, identified as Mohammad
Fazeli. Fazeli was later observed attempting to export the pressure
sensors to Saeed Majed, an Iranian national living in Iran. ICE agents
detained the package, and subsequently interviewed Fazeli. FAZELI
admitted to the attempt to illegally export the pressure sensors to
Majed in Iran. On March 16, 2006, ICE Los Angeles agents arrested
Fazeli pursuant to an indictment and arrest warrant from the Central
District of California for attempting to illegally export the aircraft
parts to Iran in violation of 50 USC 1702: International Emergency
Economic Powers Act (IEEPA); 18 USC 371: conspiracy to violate IEEPA;
and 18 USC 1001: false statements.
- U.S. Fighter Jet Components to Iran – On
July 6, 2005, Iranian businessman Abbas Tavakolian, 58, was sentenced
to 57 months incarceration and two years supervised release pursuant to
pleading guilty to Arms Export Control Act and money laundering
violations. Tavakolian pleaded guilty for his role in a scheme to
illegally export F-4 and F-14 fighter jet components to Iran .
Beginning in January 2004, Tavakolian and his son-in-law Hossein Vaezi,
sought to obtain 100 gunnery systems for the U.S. fighter jets from
suppliers in Maryland for export to Iran . Undercover ICE agents later
met with Tavakolian in Europe to discuss the transactions. Tavakolian
arranged for $20,000 to be wired to undercover ICE agents as a down
payment for the arms deal, which totaled approximately $380,000. In
December 2004, Tavakolian met undercover ICE agents in the South
Pacific to finalize the deal with $100,000 in cash. He was arrested
after additional undercover meetings in which he sought to acquire
several fully assembled F-14 fighter jet aircraft for future shipment
to Iran.
- • Night Vision Technology and Electronics Components to China -
On May 6, 2004, Zhao Xin Zhu and John Chu were arrested for Conspiring
to violate the Arms Export Control Act (AECA): 22 USC 2778 and 18 USC
371. On May 18, 2004, a federal grand jury convened in the District of
Massachusetts, during which Sunny Bai, Zhu and Chu were indicted for
conspiracy to violate the AECA: 18 USC 371. In May 2003, SAC Boston
agents received information that Bai was attempting to obtain U.S.
origin Generation III night vision equipment, military grade power
converters and traveling wave tubes used in satellite and radar
applications for export to the People's Republic of China (PRC).
Undercover agents confirmed a contract for $163,000 worth of military
grade power converters for export to the PRC with Zhu, Chu and Bai. In
mid-February 2004, agents received a wire transfer in the amount of
$48,882.00, representing a down payment for the power converters. On
September 28, 2005, Zhao Xin Zhu was sentenced to 24 months in prison
and three years of supervised release pursuant to his guilty plea to
one count of conspiracy, 18 USC 371, on May 6, 2005.
- U.S. Fighter Jet Components to Jordan – On June
15, 2005, Arif Ali Durrani, a Pakistani national, was arrested at Los
Angeles International Airport pursuant to a sealed indictment in the
Central District of California charging him with two counts of
violating the Arms Export Control Act. The indictment alleged that in
1994, Durrani illegally exported more than 100 compressor blades for
the General Electric J-85 military aircraft engine through his now
defunct company, Lonestar Aerospace. Durrani has a previous 1987
conviction for illegally exporting HAWK missile components to Iran . It
is suspected that after Durrani served his sentence he began living in
Mexico . Mexican authorities arrested Durrani on June 12, 2005, for
being illegally in Mexico . Durrani was being deported to Pakistan when
ICE agents met his connecting flight in Los Angeles and took him into
custody. In November of 2004, an additional investigation out of San
Diego , California , was initiated into the activities of Durrani for
the illegal export of aircraft parts to various countries. On September
26, 2005, as a result of the San Diego investigation, Durrani was
arrested via a criminal complaint obtained in the Southern District of
California for conspiracy (18 USC 371) to violate the Arms Export
Control Act (AECA): 22 USC 2778. On September 26, 2005, the charges
from the Central District of California were dismissed. On
September 29, 2005, in the Southern District of California, a grand
jury returned a true bill indicting Arif Ali Durrani on one count of
conspiracy and four counts of AECA. Pursuant to this investigation, one
co-conspirator pleaded guilty to a conspiracy violation in August 2005
and was sentenced to five years of probation. Further, on October 18,
2005, a second Durrani co-conspirator pled guilty to three counts of 22
U.S.C. 2778: AECA and was sentenced to 18 months in prison. On March
17, 2006, a federal jury in the Southern District of California
convicted Durrani of violating 22 USC 2778: AECA and 18 USC 371:
conspiracy. On June 5, 2006, Durrani was sentenced to 150 months in
prison.
- Assault Rifles to Colombian Terrorist Organization
– On April 19, 2005, ICE agents arrested Alberto Correa, a Colombian
national, in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., on charges of violating the Arms
Export Control Act. During several undercover meetings with ICE agents,
Correa had negotiated and attempted to purchase 80 AK-47 assault
rifles, an M-60 machinegun, and an M-16 machine gun for illegal export
to the Autodefensas Unidas de Colombia (AUC) in Colombia, a
U.S.-designated terrorist organization. On June 8, 2005, Correa pled
guilty to violating the Arms Export Control Act. Subsequent
investigation resulted in the arrest and subsequent convictions of two
co-conspirators for violations of the Arms Export Control Act. Further,
a federal grand jury issued a true bill indictment of the two
additional co-conspirators. On March 3, 2006, ICE Ft. Lauderdale agents
arrested one of the additional co-conspirators, Hector Rodriguez, for
his role in the attempt to acquire AK-47 assault rifles. Attempts are
being made to secure the arrest of the final fugitive.
- Missile and Fighter Jet Components to China – On
April 12, 2005, Xiuwen “Jennifer” Liang, 34, was sentenced to 30 months
imprisonment and fined $6,000 in Los Angeles for conspiring to
illegally export parts for the F-14 fighter jet and as well as
components for the HAWK, TOW and AIM-9 Sidewinder missile systems to
China. ICE agents arrested Liang and her husband, Jinghua Zhuang in
February 2003 as a result of a lengthy undercover investigation
targeting U.S. companies that illegally sold defense articles over the
Internet to foreign buyers. Zhuang was previously sentenced to 30
months imprisonment for his role in the scheme. The couple owned a
company in Thousand Oaks , California , called Maytone International.
- Components with Nuclear Weapons Applications to Pakistan & India
– On April 8, 2005, the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia
unsealed an indictment against Humayun Khan, 47, of Pakistan , charging
him with illegally exporting oscilloscopes with nuclear weapons
applications to Pakistan . Kahn was also charged with plotting to
illegally export 66 nuclear detonator devices from the U.S. to Pakistan
, via South Africa and the United Arab Emirates . On the same day,
prosecutors announced that Asher Karni, 51, an Israeli national who
resided in South Africa , pleaded guilty to charges that he worked with
Khan to illegally export the oscilloscopes and nuclear triggers to
Pakistan . Karni also pleaded guilty to charges that he illegally
exported sensitive U.S. electronics to facilities in India that are
involved in that nation's nuclear and missile development program. The
indictment of Khan and the guilty plea by Karni resulted from an
extensive investigation by Commerce Department and ICE agents in Boston
, Denver , and South Africa . Khan, who operated Pakland PME
Corporation in Pakistan , remains at large. Karni, who owned Top-Cape
Technology in South Africa , was recently sentenced to 36 months
incarceration. The investigation is ongoing.
- Iran Embargo Violations – On
April 6, 2005, a grand jury in the Northern District of Oklahoma
returned an indictment against Gastech Engineering Corporation for
evading and avoiding the Iranian Transaction Regulations in connection
with a $12 million contract it signed with the National Iranian Gas
Company using businesses located in Canada . The President and CEO of
Gastech, Parviz Khosrowyar, a U.S. citizen of Iranian descent, was
previously indicted on the same charges but failed to appear for trial
on March 28, 2005. An Interpol red notice has been issued worldwide for
Khosrowyar's arrest. The indictments resulted from an ICE investigation
in Oklahoma . On June 9, 2005, a true bill and superceding five-count
indictment was returned charging Khosrowyar and Gastech with
conspiracy, and violations of the International Emergency Economic
Powers Act. Khosrowyar was also indicted for his failure to appear at
the aforementioned trial. On January 11, 2006, Gastech Corporation pled
guilty to one count of violating the Iranian Transactions Regulations.
As part of the plea, Gastech agreed to forfeit $50,000.00 in proceeds
and to pay a $33,000.00 civil penalty to the Office of Foreign Assets
Control.
- TOW Missiles to China – On March 25, 2005, ICE
Detention & Removal Operations (DRO) officers in New York arrested
Qamar Zaman Babar, a citizen of the United Kingdom and a native of
Pakistan , on immigration charges. In March 1989, Babar was convicted
in the United States of conspiracy to export TOW II missiles to China
and later served his sentence. In 2001, Babar was encountered
re-entering the United States and was served with a notice to appear in
court under the Espionage provisions of the Immigration and Nationality
Act. After being ordered deported by an Immigration Judge in 2003,
Babar appealed. On March 3, 2005, the Bureau of Immigration Appeals
affirmed the immigration judge's decision and ordered him removed from
the country. ICE DRO officers arrested him for deportation.
- Military Night Vision Equipment to China – On
March 4, 2005, a criminal information was filed against Howard Hsy in
Seattle , Washington , for violation of the Arms Export Control Act.
ICE agents launched an investigation into Hsy in August 2003 for the
illegal export of plastic optical filters suitable for night vision
lighting, night vision goggles with helmet mounts for fixed-wing and
rotary aircraft, as well as liquid crystal displays that can be
integrated into avionics. In August 2003, Hsy was arrested for
espionage in Taiwan , where he remains in custody. On October 12, 2005,
a U.S. citizen who conspired with Hsy to obtain night vision goggles
for illegal export pleaded guilty to one count of violating the Export
Administration Act. Hsy returned to the United States on November 16,
2005 and was placed under arrest by ICE and FBI agents. On December 6,
2005, Hsy pled guilty to one count of 18 USC 371, Conspiracy, for his
involvement in the scheme to illegally export the controlled items.
Hsy's sentencing hearing will be scheduled on a later date.
- Geiger Counters, Ammunition, and Other Goods to Syria
– On March 1, 2005, a federal grand jury in Detroit returned a
three-count indictment charging Matt Mihsen, of Dallas, Texas, with
attempting to illegally export U.S. currency and numerous goods to
Syria, as well as making false statements to federal agents. On
February 15, 2005, ICE agents arrested Mihsen, a licensed private
investigator, as he attempted to board a flight from Detroit to
Damascus , Syria , with $13,000 in U.S. currency and a wide range of
goods in his checked luggage, including Geiger counters, 9mm
ammunition, bullet proof vests, stun guns, rifle scopes, and pepper
spray. Mihsen claimed he was going to the Middle East to hunt down
Osama bin Laden in order to collect U.S. reward money. On September 2,
2005, Mihsen pled guilty to 18 USC 922(e), Failure to declare
Ammunition to an Air Carrier. On October 21, 2005, Mihsen was sentenced
to time served and one year of supervised release.
- Sensitive U.S. Technology to Iran– On March 1,
2005, a federal grand jury in Chicago returned a two-count indictment
charging Juan Sevilla, the sales director of United Calibration Corp,
of Huntington Beach , California , with attempting to illegally export
sensitive U.S. technology to Iran in violation of the U.S. embargo on
Iran . According to the indictment, Sevilla attempted to export a
machine that measures the tensile strength of steel and related
software technologies from California , through Chicago , to Iran , in
violation of the embargo. Neither Sevilla nor United Calibration Corp
had government authorization to export the product to Iran . The
indictment resulted from an ICE investigation in Chicago with
assistance from U.S. Department of Commerce agents. On September 14,
2005, Sevilla pleaded guilty to two counts of violating 50 USC
Sections(s) 1702: International Emergency Economic Powers Act; and
1705(b): Iranian Transaction Regulations. Sevilla's sentencing hearing
will be held September 2006.
- Experimental Aircraft and Sensitive Electronics to Iran by Convicted Nuclear Trafficker
– On February 25, 2005, a federal indictment charging Ali Asghar
Manzarpour, of Brighton , United Kingdom , with five counts of
violating the U.S. embargo on Iran was unsealed in U.S. District Court
in Washington , D.C. The indictment alleged that Manzarpour attempted
to illegally export a Berkut 360 experimental, single-engine aircraft
from the U.S. to Iran via the U.K. The aircraft was intercepted in the
U.K. Manzarpour also allegedly exported electrical components from the
U.S. to Iran via Austria on four occasions between 2000 and 2004.
Manzarpour was arrested in Warsaw , Poland , on February 17, 2005, by
Polish authorities acting on a U.S. arrest warrant issued after a joint
investigation by ICE agents in Chicago, the ICE Attaché in Austria ,
and Department of Commerce agents. Manzarpour had previously served
nine months in British prisons after being convicted in May 1998 for
attempting to export U.S.-origin maraging steel from Britain to Iran
for nuclear purposes. At the time, British authorities noted that the
high-strength steel, which is used to build centrifuges for enriching
uranium, was destined for Iran 's nuclear weapons program. British
authorities said Manzarpour had been working with the Iranian
government for at least a decade. Manzarpour remains in the custody of
Polish authorities at this time and additional enforcement actions are
anticipated in the near future.
- Weapons to Colombian Terrorist Group– On February
11, 2005, Carlos Gamarra-Murillo of Bucaramanga , Colombia , pleaded
guilty in Tampa , Florida , to charges of providing material support to
a foreign terrorist organization and violating the Arms Export Control
Act. The plea was the result of an ICE investigation that showed
Gamarra-Murillo plotted to provide nearly $4 million worth of arms to
Colombia 's Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (FARC).
Gamarra-Murillo sought to illegally export roughly 4,000 grenades,
1,800 assault rifles, as well as 60 grenade launchers and 60 machine
guns to Colombia via Venezuela . Gamarra-Murrillo allegedly offered to
pay undercover ICE agents posing as weapons suppliers 60 percent of the
payment in cocaine (2,000 kilograms) and the remainder in U.S. currency
upon delivering the weapons shipment to a clandestine airstrip in
Venezuela . Gamarra-Murrillo was arrested in April 2004 in Tampa after
providing ICE agents with a down payment for the weapons. On August 8,
2005, Gamarra-Murrillo was sentenced to 25 years federal imprisonment.
- Sensitive Night Vision Technology to Iran – On
July 19, 2005, Erik Kyriacou was sentenced to 5 years probation, 4
months house arrest and ordered to pay $8,000 in restitution pursuant
to an ICE investigation. On February 7, 2005, Kyriacou, a former NBC
cameraman and resident of Long Island, NY, pled guilty in Philadelphia
to a four-count indictment charging him with attempting to illegally
export sensitive Astroscope night vision lenses to Iran. The lenses had
been stolen from NBC News in New York. According to court documents,
Kyriacou was attempting to sell the lenses on the Internet via e-bay to
undercover ICE agents posing as international arms brokers. Undercover
agents informed Kyriacou that the lenses would be going to Iran in
violation of the Iranian embargo and other export laws. Kyriacou agreed
to the sale and illegally exported the devices to undercover ICE agents
believing that they were destined for Iran. On April 12, 2004, ICE
agents arrested Kyriacou in Newark, NJ.
- Controlled Items to Iranian Ballistic Missile Facility
- – On February 2, 2005, the U.S. Attorney for the District of
Connecticut announced a four-count superseding indictment charging
Mohammed Farahbakhsh, Hamid Fathololoomy, as well as their U.A.E.-based
companies Diamond Technology, and Akeed Trading Company, with
conspiring to illegally export goods to Iran via the U.A.E. The
indictment alleges that the defendants shipped computer goods from a
Texas company to an entity in Iran affiliated with that nation’s
ballistic missile program. In addition, the indictment alleges that
they illegally exported a satellite communication system and other
goods to Iran. Originally, Farahbakhsh was charged with illegally
exporting pressure sensors from a Connecticut company to Iran.
Department of Commerce, ICE, and the Defense Criminal Investigative
Service agents conducted the investigation. Agents arrested
Farahbakhsh, an Iranian national and naturalized U.S. citizen, in Los
Angeles on October 20, 2004. In April 2005, Farahbakhsh pleaded guilty
to criminal charges. On September 22, 2005, Farahbakhsh was sentenced
to time served.
- Military Laser Sights to Foreign Locations – On
April 27, 2005, Sotaro Inami, a Japanese national, was sentenced to 15
months incarceration for conspiracy to export U.S. Munitions List
articles to Japan. On January 28, 2005, Inami pled guilty in federal
court in Philadelphia to one count of conspiracy to violate the Arms
Export Control Act. Inami, and a co-conspirator Takashi Matsubara had
been charged in July 2004 as a result of an undercover ICE and Defense
Criminal Investigative Service investigation. According to the
indictment, the defendants conspired to purchase and illegally export
military laser sights for M-16 and M-5 rifles to locations outside the
United States. Inami was arrested at the Los Angeles airport on
February 17, 2004 after he arrived to attend a weapons show in Las
Vegas. Matsubara remains a fugitive, but there are no plans to seek
extradition. On May 25, 2005, Inami was subsequently deported from the
United States.
- Oil Burner Nozzles to Iran – On January 20, 2005,
a New Jersey company called Nozzle Manufacturing Company, or Monarch
Nozzle, pleaded guilty to a one-count information for violating the
International Emergency Economic Powers Act in connection with an
effort to export oil burner nozzles to Germany, knowing that the
devices would subsequently be illegally diverted to Iran. The case was
investigated by agents from ICE and the Department of Commerce and
began after border inspectors seized several burning nozzles being
shipped to Germany in 1999. Subsequent investigation showed that the
German recipient was shipping the nozzles to Iran. Pursuant to the
guilty plea, Nozzle Manufacturing was ordered to pay a $10,000 criminal
fine, and pay civil penalties in the amount of $10,000 to the
Department of Commerce and Department of Treasury, Office of Foreign
Asset Control, respectively.
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