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October 2005
Fact Sheet
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 2004, ICE’s ASTI Unit worked on more than 2,500 investigations into
the illegal export of U.S. munitions and sensitive technology, made 122
arrests, obtained 95 indictments and received 70 convictions.
Through an industry outreach program called “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 11,700 industry
outreach presentations, resulting in tips that have led to ICE criminal
investigations nationwide and worldwide.
Some recent illegal export investigations by ICE include:
- U.S. Fighter Jet Components to Iran - On July 6,
2005, Iranian businessman Abbas Tavakolian, 58, was sentenced to 57
months incarceration and 2 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 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 12, 2005, CHU was
found not guilty by jury trial pursuant to his charge of conspiracy, 18
USC 371. 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 22 USC 2778, Arms Export Control
Act (AECA). 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, a Pakistani citizen, on one count of Title 18, U.S.C. 371,
Conspiracy and four counts of Title 22 U.S.C. 2778, Arms Export Control
Act (AECA). Pursuant to this investigation, one co-conspirator pleaded
guilty to a conspiracy violation in August 2005 and sentencing is
scheduled for November 2005. Further, on October 18, 2005, a second
DURRANI co-conspirator pleaded guilty to three counts of Title 22 U.S.C.
2778, AECA. Both co-conspirators have agreed to testify against
Durrani.
- 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 has issued
a true bill indictment of the two additional co-conspirators. This
investigation is ongoing.
- 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, 48, 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. A
tentative trial date has been scheduled for February 2006.
- Assault Rifles to Colombian Terrorist Organization
- On April 1, 2005, Guillermo Cardoso-Arias, 55, a Colombian citizen and
resident of South Florida, was sentenced to 46 months in prison after
pleading guilty in federal court in Miami to illegal arms brokering
activities and attempting to illegally export 200 fully-automatic AK-47
assault rifles without the required U.S. export license. The guilty plea
resulted from a joint investigation by ICE, ATF, and the Defense
Criminal Investigative Service. In law enforcement monitored
conversations, Cardoso-Arias stated that he was buying the AK-47s for
the Autodefenseas Unidas de Colombia (AUC), a designated foreign
terrorist organization in Colombia. He further stated that the weapons
would be used to fight the Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia
(FARC), another designated foreign terrorist organization.
- Controlled Technology to Iran - On April 1, 2005,
BEF Corporation in Allentown, Pennsylvania, was sentenced to five years
probation and ordered to pay civil and criminal penalties for illegally
exporting goods to Iran and for making false statements to the
government. An investigation by ICE and Department of Commerce agents
revealed that BEF knowingly exported miniature photo labs to Iran
without the required export licenses and made false statements on export
documents to help BEF customers around the world avoid import duties.
BEF is a company that buys photo-processing machines, refurbishes them,
and resells the equipment throughout the world.
- 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 remains under
house arrest in Taiwan pending adjudication of judicial proceedings.
- 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 investigation by ICE agents 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 is set for December 1,
2005.
- Experimental Aircraft and Sensitive Electronics to Iran by
Convicted Nuclear Trafficker – On February 25, 2005, a federal
indictment charging Ali Asghar Manzarpour, 43, 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, 54, 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.
- U.S. Missile Components to the Middle East - On
December 15, 2004, Leib Kohn, 66, and his Brooklyn, NY, companies
L&M Manufacturing Corporation and Nesco NY Incorporated, each
pleaded guilty to conspiracy to violate the Arms Export Control Act in
U.S. District Court, Connecticut. ICE agents arrested Kohn in New York
on March 19, 2004. According to the indictment, Kohn and his companies
purchased from U.S. vendors sensitive U.S. military items, including
components for HAWK missiles, military radars, and F-4 Phantom fighter
jet aircraft. Kohn then exported these items to QPS, a company in
Israel, while knowingly failing to obtain the required export license.
ICE worked closely with the Israeli National Police, who searched the
QPS facility in March 2004 and found the missile components illegally
exported by Kohn. Israeli National Police arrested Eli Cohen after
searching the QPS facility in Israel. Israeli authorities had
investigated Cohen in the past for allegedly transferring arms to Iran.
ICE and Israeli authorities do not believe the final destination of
Kohn’s shipments was Israel. Kohn is awaiting sentencing.
- U.S. Fighter Jet Components to Iran – On December
9, 2004, Sherzhik Avassapian pleaded guilty in federal court in Miami to
one count of making false statements. Avassapian, a Tehran-based broker
who asserted he worked on behalf of the Iranian Ministry of Defense, had
been charged in December 2003, in a three-count superseding indictment
with 1) conspiracy to violate the Arms Export Control Act; 2) engaging
in brokering activities with a prohibited nation (Iran), and 3) making
false statements to a federal law enforcement officer. On September 18,
2003 ICE agents in Miami arrested Avassapian after he arrived in Miami
on a flight from Europe to meet with undercover ICE agents and inspect
U.S. military items. Documents outlining the proposed arms deal were
found by ICE agents stuffed under the bed mattress in Avassapian’s Miami
hotel room. The charges resulted from an undercover ICE investigation
that revealed that Avassapian attempted to purchase in Florida and
illegally export roughly $750,000 worth of U.S. F-14 fighter jet
components to the Iranian military, via Italy. According to the
indictment, Avassapian solicited these military parts from undercover
ICE agents in the United States, and then discussed the transshipment of
these parts through third countries, including Italy, to conceal Iran as
the ultimate destination. Finally, he inspected the components in the
United States and provided a down payment for their purchase. Avassapian
also negotiated with undercover ICE agents over the illegal export of
complete military helicopters and C-130 military aircraft electrical and
avionic upgrades to Iran. On May 16, 2005, AVASSAPIAN was sentenced to
41 months federal imprisonment.
- Chemical Weapons Components to Iraq – On December
6, 2004, Dutch authorities arrested Frans Van Anraat, 62, on charges of
genocide for his role in supplying chemical weapons components to Iraq
that were used by Saddam Hussein to gas thousands of Iraqi Kurds in
1988. The charges stemmed in part from a long-time ICE investigation
into Van Anraat that began in 1984. The ICE investigation found that Van
Anraat had arranged for 4 shipments of thiodiglycol totaling more than
530 tons from the United States to Iraq in 1987 and 1988. Thiodiglycol
is a precursor chemical for mustard gas. ICE agents determined that Van
Anraat had purchased the chemicals from a Baltimore company called
Alcolac International, Inc. Van Anraat was charged in Baltimore in 1989
and subsequently arrested in Italy on a U.S. arrest warrant. Italian
authorities later released Van Anraat, who fled to Iraq where he
purportedly remained until 2003. In February 2004, Dutch authorities
began working with ICE and the U.S. Justice Department to bring charges
against Van Anraat in the Netherlands, where Van Anraat had recently
returned. In March 2004, ICE turned over significant evidence against
Van Anraat to Dutch authorities, ultimately helping them bring charges
against him.
- U.S. Military Night Vision Systems to Iranian
Military – On December 3, 2004, ICE agents and Austrian
authorities thwarted a plot to illegally supply the Iranian military
with thousands of advanced military night vision systems from the United
States. The investigation began in 2002, when ICE agents learned that an
arms broker in Tehran was seeking 3,000 helmet-mounted Generation III
U.S. military night vision goggles for the Iranian military from vendors
in the United States. In September 2004, Iranian nationals Mahmoud Seif
and Shahrzad Mir Gholikhan began negotiations to take delivery of a
first night vision shipment in Austria, noting their direct contacts
with the Iranian government. ICE agents began working with Austrian
authorities to ensure that arrests could be made in Austria. Austrian
authorities arrested Seif and Mir Gholikhan after the pair took
possession of the first night vision system at a meeting in Austria. On
September 13, 2005, a Southern District of Florida grand jury handed
down superceding indictments of Mahmoud SEIF, Hamid KARGAR, and
Shahrazad Mir GHOLIKHAN for their involvement in an attempt to procure
Generation III Night Vision Goggles (NVGs) for the Government of Iran.
The indictments contain the following charges for the above named
individuals: 1 Count - 18 USC 371 Conspiracy; 1 Count - 22 USC 2778 Arms
Export Control Act; 1 Count - 18 USC 1956 (4) Money Laundering; 1 Count
- 18 USC 1956 (a)(2)(A) Money Laundering; 1 Count - 18 USC 982 (a)(1)
Forfeiture; 1 Count - 18 USC 2 Aiding and Abetting
- Missile and Fighter Jet Components to China / Iran
– On November 18, 2004, a federal judge in Washington, D.C. ordered Los
Angeles aircraft parts supplier Interaero Inc. to pay a $500,000 fine
and serve five years of corporate probation for illegally exporting
components for the HAWK missile, the F-4 Phantom fighter jet, and the
F-5 Phantom/Tiger fighter jet to China between June 2000 and March 2001.
Interaero pleaded guilty to violating the Arms Export Control Act in
August 2004. The conviction of Interaero was the eleventh in California
and the District of Columbia to result from a 5-year undercover ICE
investigation that targeted aircraft parts suppliers that sold defense
articles over the Internet to foreign buyers without obtaining the
required U.S. export licenses or complying with the arms embargoes. For
example, on August 3, 2004, Amanullah Khan, a Pakistani national,
pleaded guilty to a four-count criminal indictment in Los Angeles
alleging that Khan and his Anaheim, Calif., company, United Aircraft
& Electronics, illegally exported F-4 and F-5 fighter jets to China.
Khan’s partner in United Aircraft & Electronics, Ziad Jamil Gammoh,
a Jordanian national, pleaded guilty on June 24, 2004 to the same
charges. On July 29, 2004, Mexpar International, another defendant in
the undercover investigation, was sentenced in Los Angeles to three
years probation and a fine of $75,000 for illegally exporting components
for F-4 fighter jets, Hawk missiles, and AIM-9 Sidewinder missiles to
China. Ahmad Nahardani and Gabriela De Brea, who operated Mexpar
International, pleaded guilty to arms export violations in September
2003. On Sept. 9, 2004, De Brea was sentenced to one-year incarceration.
Nahardani received a sentence of 21 months federal imprisonment.
- Military Antennae Controls to Spain – On November
16, 2004, Carlos Melean was indicted for violating the Arms Export
Control Act in connection with his efforts to illegally export radar
antennae control boxes for Orion P-3 surveillance aircraft to Spain
without the required export license from the State Department. ICE
agents arrested Melean on October 18, 2004 in Miami. According to the
complaint, Melean and his company Aviation Spares Inc., Miami, FL, were
attempting to export the antennae control boxes to Spain for use by the
Spanish Air Force. In March 2005, Melean pled guilty to making a false
statement in violation of 18 USC 1001. On June 17, 2005, Melean was
sentenced to two years probation and ordered to pay a $2,500
fine.
- Military Helicopter Engines and Night Vision Systems to
China – On August 30, 2005, Kwonhwan Park was sentenced to 32
months federal imprisonment to be followed by deportation from the
United States for his role in a scheme to illegally export U.S.
technology to China. On November 10, 2004, Kwonhwan Park, a South Korean
citizen, pleaded guilty in New Haven, CT, to violating the Arms Export
Control Act for illegally exporting Black Hawk helicopter engines and
other military items to China. ICE agents arrested Park in Virginia on
April 1, 2004 as he attempted to board a plane bound for China with
military night vision equipment in his luggage. ICE agents in New Haven
had been investigating Park for two years after his Malaysian company
bought two military helicopter engines from a U.S. firm and illegally
exported them to China. He then attempted to buy four more such engines
from a U.S. manufacturer, which notified ICE agents. ICE agents tracked
Park as he entered the United States in March 2004 and arrested him as
he attempted to depart with night vision technology. The government of
South Korea worked closely with ICE on the investigation, prosecuting
Yung Jean Sohn, a former South Korean military official, on charges of
forging an end-user certificate falsely indicating that military
helicopter engines purchased by Park were bound for legitimate parties
overseas.
- U.S. Fighter Jet Components to Iran – On November
6, 2004, Hamid M. Butt, 71, a naturalized U.S. citizen and a Pakistani
native who was indicted on October 15, 2004, for violations of the Arms
Export Control Act, died of natural causes. ICE agents had arrested Butt
on June 22, 2004, after he arrived in Houston on a flight from Malaysia.
Butt had been charged in a sealed complaint in Newark with violating the
Arms Export Control Act for attempting to export F-14 fighter jet parts
to Iran in 1999. Butt was the sole owner and operator of Humble Parts
Distribution, an aircraft parts supply firm in Humble, Texas. The
complaint alleges that in October 1999, Butt received an order for F-14
parts from Office de Distribution et Maintenance (ODM), an international
spare parts trading company located in France. Butt then attempted to
illegally ship electronic parts specifically made for the F-14 from
Houston to Frankfurt, Germany, via Newark, New Jersey, without the
required export license from the State Department. U.S. border
inspectors found and seized the shipment before it could leave Newark.
ICE agents conducted a subsequent investigation that led to federal
charges against Butt, which were unsealed upon his arrest.
- Missile Components to China – On October 6, 2004,
Ting-Ih Hsu, a naturalized U.S. citizen and president of Azure Systems,
Inc, and Hai Lin Nee, a Chinese citizen and an employee of Azure
systems, were sentenced to three years probation for false statements in
connection with illegally exporting to China 25 low-noise amplifier
chips that have applications in U.S. Hellfire missile systems. ICE
agents arrested the pair in Orlando, Florida, on March 12, 2004, on
charges of violating the Export Administration Act, conspiracy, and
false statements. According to the indictment, the defendants falsely
labeled the amplifier chips in export documents as “transistors” worth
some $20. Hsu was a former employee of defense contractor Lockheed
Martin. Nee formerly worked at a U.S. research institute that designed
software for military and warfare simulations. On July 16, 2004, both
subjects pleaded guilty to making false statements.
- Restricted Electronic Equipment to China – On
September 30, 2004, ICE agents in conjunction with agents from the FBI
and the Department of Commerce arrested four individuals in Milwaukee
and Manitowac, Wisconsin on charges of conspiring to illegally export
more than $500,000 in restricted electronic components to China. The
components in question could be used in a wide variety of military radar
and communications applications. Those arrested were Ning Wen, Hailin
Lin, Jian Guo Qu, and Ruo Ling Wang. The defendants were charged with
conspiring to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act,
the Export Administration Regulations and money laundering violations.
On May 3, 2005, Jian Guo Qu and Ruo Ling Wang pled guilty to conspiracy
and violation of Title 50 U.S.C. 1705(b). Wang was sentenced to 6 months
time served and fined $1,500. Qu was sentenced to 46 months federal
imprisonment and fined $2,000. On July 8, 2005, Hailin Lin pled guilty
to conspiracy and money laundering, and is awaiting sentencing. On
September 21, 2005, in U.S. District Court in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Ning
WEN was convicted at trial for five counts of violating 50 USC 1705 (b)
(International Emergency Economic Powers Act - IEEPA), 18 USC 371
(Conspiracy), 18 USC 1956(a)(2)(A) (Money Laundering), 18 USC 1956(h)
(Money Laundering) and 18 USC 1001 (False Statements) in relation to his
direct involvement in a scheme to illegally export dual-use
semi-conductors and other electronic components from the U.S. to China
without proper export licenses. WEN is awaiting sentencing.
- Military Assault Weapons to Philippines – On
September 20, 2004, Victor “the Devil” Infante, 34, the accused leader
of an international firearms and methamphetamine distribution
organization pleaded guilty to drug charges. ICE agents arrested Infante
after a 9-month investigation that involved law enforcement agencies in
the Philippines, New York, New Jersey, California, and Louisiana.
Infante was charged with the attempted export of assault weapons,
including MAC-11 submachine guns, MP-5s, HK-94s, Colt AR-15s, and Uzi
Model Bs, to the Philippines. He was also charged with importing
thousands of dollars of “meth” to New York and New Jersey. Infante was
arrested by authorities in the Philippines and turned over to ICE/FBI
custody. Philippine authorities contend that Infante supplied arms to
the Abu Sayyaf terrorist organization. Infante is awaiting
sentencing.
- Weapons to Colombian Terrorist Groups – On August
19, 2004, a federal grand jury in Miami, Florida charged seven
individuals with conspiracy to illegally export arms, ammunition, and
other military supplies to organized paramilitary groups in Colombia,
including the Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (FARC) and the
Auto Defensas Unidas de Colombia (AUC), both of which are U.S.
designated terrorist groups. The charges resulted from a joint
investigation by ICE and ATF. The investigation, which began after
agents responded to a flooded warehouse in Miami that contained weapons
destined for South America, ultimately resulted in the seizure of more
than 200 weapons and more than 700,000 rounds of ammunition. Six members
involved in this conspiracy have been arrested and convicted pursuant to
plea agreements in U.S. District Court. One member is currently a
fugitive, and the remaining defendants are awaiting sentencing.
- Sensitive Military Technology to China – On July
29, 2004, seven individuals were indicted on export violations alleging
that they used their two companies, Universal Technologies, Inc.,
(Unitek) and Manten Electronics, Inc., to illegally export sensitive
national-security controlled items to state-sponsored institutes in
China. Agents from ICE, the FBI, and the Department of Commerce arrested
the individuals on July 1, 2004. According to the complaints, the
individuals were illegally exporting millions of dollars worth of items
used in a variety of defense weapons systems, including smart weapons,
radar, electronic warfare and communications systems. On September 13,
2005, four of the co-conspirators pleaded guilty to an information filed
in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey. The
information charged the individuals with violating 22 U.S.C. 2778: the
Arms Export Control Act (AECA); 50 U.S.C. 1705 (b): the International
Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA); 18 U.S.C. 371: Conspiracy to
violate the Export Administration Regulations (EAR): 18 U.S.C. 2: Aiding
and Abetting and 18 U.S.C. 1001: Providing False Statements. Sentencing
is scheduled for February 6, 2006.
- U.S. Fighter Jet to Colombia in Plot to Assassinate Drug
Baron – On June 29, 2004, veteran British mercenary and
longtime fugitive David Tomkins, 64, pleaded guilty in Miami to federal
charges of violating the Arms Export Control Act. ICE agents had
arrested Tomkins on August 31, 2003 upon his arrival in Houston on a
flight from London. Tomkins had been charged in Miami in 1994 in
connection with a scheme to buy an A-37 fighter jet from undercover ICE
agents in 1991. At the time, Tomkins intended to use the fighter jet to
bomb a Colombian prison that housed Pablo Escobar, the previous chief of
Colombia’s Medellin drug cartel. Tomkins was being paid millions to
assassinate Escobar by the rival Cali drug cartel in Colombia. Tomkins
fled the United States prior to his 1994 indictment, after being tipped
off to the ICE investigation by unknown parties. He remained a fugitive
until his arrest in 2003. On October 8, 2004, Tomkins was subsequently
sentenced to 33 months Federal imprisonment.
- Military Night Vision Technology to China – On June
3, 2004, the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of California
announced that two individuals (Philip Cheng and Martin Shih) and a San
Jose company (Night Vision Technology) were indicted by a federal grand
jury for illegally brokering the sale of military and commercial-grade
night vision technology to China. Court documents in the case alleged
that the pair had entered into a contract with the Chinese military to
produce technology for night vision equipment in China. The defendants
were also charged with money laundering and other export violations. The
charges resulted from an extensive investigation by agents from ICE, the
FBI, the IRS, and the Department of Commerce. The trial date for both
subjects is pending.
- Military Helicopter Components to Iran / Foreign
Purchasers – On May 10, 2004, Rotair Industries, Inc., a
military helicopter parts manufacturer in Bridgeport, Connecticut
pleaded guilty to two counts of illegally exporting U.S. defense
articles. The company also agreed to pay a criminal fine of $500,000 and
institute an export compliance program to ensure that no future exports
were made without the necessary approvals from the U.S. government. In
addition, Wesley Harrington, a Rotair officer and the son of the company
owner, Herbert Harrington, pleaded guilty to attempting to impede ICE
agents during a search of Rotair’s offices by attempting to dismantle
his computer. ICE agents launched their probe of Rotair after items made
by the firm were found to have ended up in Iran, a nation that is
embargoed under U.S. law. As a result of the discovery, two separate
undercover investigations by ICE agents in Milwaukee and New Haven were
launched to confirm whether Rotair was willfully exporting U.S.
munitions with obtaining the required approvals from the U.S.
government. Both undercover ICE investigations confirmed that Rotair was
illegally exporting military helicopter parts without the required
export licenses and approvals, even though the company had been
specifically warned against such exports by the U.S. State Department.
In both cases, Rotair negotiated with and sold restricted military items
to undercover ICE companies posing as international arms
purchasers.
- Missile Components to China – On March 5, 2004,
Zhan Gao, a well-known U.S. human rights activist and scholar who had
been jailed by Chinese authorities in 2001 for allegedly spying for
Taiwan, was sentenced in the Eastern District of Virginia for illegally
exporting sensitive U.S. technology with potential military applications
to China. The technology exported by Gao could be used in missile
guidance and airborne battle management systems. Gao and her husband,
Donghua Xue, pleaded guilty in November 2003 to illegal arms export and
tax fraud violations. Gao and Xue agreed to forfeit roughly $590,000
that they had received from China as payment for the exports. The guilty
pleas resulted from an extensive ICE investigation that began in the
Fall of 2000. Gao ultimately received a sentence of 15 months, including
7 months imprisonment followed by 8 months community
confinement.
- U.S. Fighter Jet and Military Helicopter Components to Iran
/ Taiwan – On February 19, 2004, Camnetics Manufacturing
Corporation in Utah pleaded guilty to making false statements. In May
2004, Camnetics Vice President, William Manning, pleaded guilty to
obstruction charges. Camnetics was fined $25,000 and William Manning was
sentenced to three years probation and fined $5,000. Each had been
charged in December 2002 in the Eastern District of Wisconsin with three
counts of violating the Arms Export Control Act in connection with an
ICE undercover investigation which revealed that Camnetics illegally
exported components for F-4 fighter jets and S-65 Sikorsky military
assault helicopters to undercover ICE agents. Undercover negotiations
indicated that the military components were destined for Iran. The
guilty pleas were the latest developments in a now-closed undercover ICE
operation out of Milwaukee called “Operation Fool’s Gold.” The
investigation targeted U.S. companies and individuals that were
illegally exporting weapons components to foreign locations, primarily
Iran. In 1999, ICE agents created an undercover arms procurement
business that purportedly operated in Austria, but in actuality operated
out of the United States. The undercover business mimicked the practices
of a notorious Iranian arms broker who remains an ICE fugitive. On
December 10, 2002, the undercover investigation resulted in federal
charges against Camnetics Manufacturing Corporation in Utah and its vice
president, William Manning; Equipment and Supply International of North
Carolina and its chief Andrew Adams; as well as Rick’s Manufacturing and
Supply Company of Oklahoma, and Jami S. Choudhury. Each was charged in
the Eastern District of Wisconsin with violating the Arms Export Control
Act for illegally exporting components for F-4 fighter jets, S-65
Sikorsky military assault helicopters, and other aircraft to undercover
ICE agents. In all cases except Choudhury’s, the undercover negotiations
indicated that the military components were destined for Iran. Equipment
and Supply International was sentenced to 2 years probation and fined
$50,000. Andrew Adams, president of Equipment and Supply International,
was sentenced to 3 years probation and fined $25,000. Rick’s
Manufacturing and Supply International was fined $50,000. Jami S.
Choudhury was sentenced to 37 months incarceration, 36 months probation
and was fined $2,000.
- Missile Technology to China – On Nov. 18, 2003, ICE
agents in Haverhill, Mass., arrested William Kovacs, the president of
Elatec Technology Corporation (ETC). On Nov. 13, 2003, Kovacs and his
company ETC were indicted by a grand jury in Washington D.C. for
conspiracy, aiding and abetting, and violations of the Export
Administration Act. An ICE investigation had determined that ETC had
exported a sophisticated industrial furnace with potential missile
applications to a firm in China known as Chinese Great Wall. ETC had
exported the furnace to China even after its export license for this
shipment was denied by the Commerce Department. On May 28, 2004, Kovacs
pled guilty to one count of conspiracy and is currently scheduled for a
judicial hearing in November 2005.
- Military Patrol Vessels to Iraq – On October 15,
2003, a federal grand jury in Washington, D.C. charged Sabri Yakou, 69,
and his son Regard Yakou, 43, with violations of the Arms Export Control
Act for allegedly brokering the sale of 6 armored patrol boats, worth a
total of $11 million, to the former Saddam Hussein regime in Iraq. The
arrests and charges were the result of an ICE investigation. The case
was the first to result from the deployment of ICE teams to Iraq in
March 2003 to investigate whether U.S. people or entities had violated
U.S. laws or U.N. sanctions by supplying the Hussein regime in Iraq with
munitions and other materials. As of November 2005, negotiations
continue with the U.S. Attorney’s Office and defense counsel as to a
potential plea agreement.
- Equipment with Nuclear Applications to Pakistani
Military – On Sept. 23, 2003, Omega Engineering of Stamford,
Connecticut, was sentenced to pay $313,000 in criminal fines and an
$187,000 civil penalty. On Sept. 22, the Chief Financial Officer of
Omega was sentenced to 5 years imprisonment and 5 years home
confinement. The sentences resulted from an ICE investigation, which
found that Omega and its CFO had willfully disregarded the denial of a
U.S. export license, and illegally exported laboratory equipment with
nuclear and non-nuclear applications to the Pakistani Ministry of
Defense, National Development Center.
- Shoulder-Fired Missiles Intended for Use Against U.S.
Commercial Aircraft – On August 12, 2003, agents from ICE and
the FBI arrested accused British arms dealer Hemant LAKHANI on charges
of attempting to sell a shoulder-fired missile to individuals in the
U.S. with the understanding that it would be used to shoot down an
American commercial jetliner. The criminal complaint alleged that
LAKHANI sought to arrange the sale of at least another 50 shoulder-fired
missiles to an individual posing as a member of terrorist organization
in the United States. Two other individuals were charged in connection
with the monetary aspects of the case. On April 27, 2005, LAKHANI was
convicted on five counts related to the Arms Export Control (22 U.S.C.
2778), Material Support to a Terrorist Organization (18 U.S.C. 2339),
Money Laundering (18 U.S.C. 1956) and Importation of Goods by False
Statement (18 U.S.C. 542 and 2). On September 12, 2005, LAKHANI was
sentenced to 47 years of federal imprisonment for the April 27, 2005
conviction related to the attempted importation of shoulder-fried
missiles.
- U.S. Missile and Fighter Jet Components to Iranian Arms
Network (Multicore I & II) – On July 10, 2003, ICE agents
executed federal search warrants on 18 U.S. companies in 10 states
suspected of violating the Arms Export Control Act. The ICE
investigation indicated that these U.S. companies had illegally exported
thousands of missile and fighter jet components to Multicore, Ltd. (aka
AKS Industries), an Iranian front company in London that procures
weapons systems worldwide directly for the Iranian military. Among the
items allegedly exported by these U.S. companies to Multicore in London
were components for U.S. HAWK missiles, F-14 fighter jets, F-5 fighter
jets, F-4 fighter jets, C-130 military aircraft, military radars, and
other equipment. The July 2003 search warrants were the latest phase in
an ICE investigation into Multicore that began in February 1999. At that
time, agents received information about a company in Bakersfield,
California, called Multicore, Ltd (a subsidiary of Multicore London),
that was involved in the purchase of F-14 fighter jet parts from U.S.
companies. In December 2000, ICE agents searched Multicore’s storage
facility in Bakersfield and seized thousands of aircraft and missile
components that were bound for Iran via Singapore. Agents documented
more than 270 shipments of military components delivered to Multicore in
Bakersfield from various U.S. companies for export. During the December
2000 raid, ICE agents also arrested Multicore officers Saeed Homayouni,
a naturalized Canadian from Iran, and Yew Ling Fung, a Malaysian
citizen, on arms export violations. In June 2001, Homayouni pleaded
guilty to conspiracy to violate the Arms Export Control Act. Fung
pleaded guilty to misprision of a felony. Both were sentenced in the
Southern District of California in September 2001. Based upon
information uncovered by ICE agents in the December 2000 raid on
Multicore Bakersfield, British authorities soon launched an
investigation into Multicore London. In early May 2002, Her Majesty’s
Customs and Excise Service (U.K) executed search warrants on Multicore’s
London office, one residence, and two storage facilities. They also
arrested Soroosh Homayouni (the brother of Saeed Homayouni) and
Mahboubeh Eshraghi in London. Both Iranian citizens, these individuals
were charged by British authorities with violating UK export
regulations. The searches in London yielded thousands of missile and
fighter jet components, as well as documents from the government of Iran
requesting that Multicore in London purchase military components around
the globe. In August 2002, ICE agents met with British authorities to
review the evidence seized at Multicore’s London offices. The evidence
indicated that more than 50 U.S. companies had shipped military items
directly to Multicore in London after the December 2000 raids on
Multicore’s facility in Bakersfield. Armed with this evidence, ICE
agents launched an investigation into those U.S. companies that had
supplied Multicore in London. This investigation ultimately resulted in
the searches of the 18 U.S. companies. The investigation and prosecution
of these cases continues.
- Components for Howitzers, Military Radars to
Pakistan – On June 12, 2003, Yasmin Ahmed and Tariq Ahmed
pleaded guilty in the District of Connecticut to conspiracy to violate
the Arms Export Control Act. The ICE investigation determined that the
couple had purchased in the U.S. and attempted to illegally export to
Pakistan parts for Howitzer canons, military radars, and armored
personnel carriers. As part of this investigation, Allen Haller and his
Florida-based company, Mart Haller, Inc., pleaded guilty in Connecticut
on June 9 to conspiracy to illegally export military components to a
Pakistani company in the United Arab Emirates. Yasmin Ahmed was
sentenced to time served and Tariq Ahmed was sentenced to 24 months
incarceration.
- “Drone” Components to Pakistan – On May 29, 2003,
ICE agents in Chicago arrested Mariam Aidroos, a Pakistani national, on
charges of false statements in connection with the attempted export of
components for unmanned aerial vehicles or “drones” to Pakistan. ICE
agents determined that the woman was attempting to export these goods to
an individual affiliated with the Pakistani military. In April 2005,
Aidroos pled guilty to providing false statements to federal agents and
is awaiting sentencing.
- Military Aircraft and Engines to Libya – On March
26, 2003, Klaus Ernst Buhler, a German commercial pilot, pled guilty to
a 2-count indictment out of Tampa, Florida, charging him with conspiracy
to illegally export engines for C-130 military aircraft and CH-47
Chinook helicopters to Libya. During the investigation, the pilot also
negotiated with undercover ICE agents to buy four complete aircraft, two
of which he said were for intended for Moammar Qadaffi’s use. ICE agents
arrested the pilot on Jan. 10, 2002. In June 2003, Buhler was sentenced
to 30 months federal imprisonment and three years supervised
release.
- Military Radar Components to Iran – On March 20,
2003, the U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland announced a
superseding indictment against Eric Chang, a naturalized U.S. citizen
and resident of Taiwan, and David Chu, a resident of Taiwan, on charges
of conspiracy to violate the Arms Export Control Act and money
laundering. The charges resulted from an undercover ICE probe, which
began after Chang and Chu allegedly contacted a Maryland company in
January 2002 about purchasing satellite space images of Tehran. ICE
agents launched a probe using an undercover business in Maryland. The
defendants allegedly then attempted to purchase from undercover ICE
agents military radar detection electronics (spiral-backed antennas for
U.S. fighter jets) for export to Iran, via Guam and Taiwan. ICE agents
arrested Chu in Feb. 2003 after an undercover meeting in Guam as he
attempted to board a flight for Taiwan with the military antennas. Chang
remains a fugitive. The defendants also discussed with ICE agents the
purchase of early warning radar equipment, state-of-the-art night vision
equipment and other military use technology for Iran. On November 14,
2003, Chang pled guilty and was sentenced in federal court. However,
Chang failed to report and is currently a fugitive.
- Satellite Technology to China – On March 4, 2003,
Hughes Electronics Corp. and Boeing Satellite Systems, Inc. entered into
a civil settlement with the State Department in which the companies
agreed to pay a $32 million fine, $8 million of which would go to ICE.
The agreement settled charges that the firms had illegally shared
sensitive satellite technology/know-how with China.
Military
Communications Equipment to Pakistan -- On Feb. 27, 2003, Raytheon
agreed to pay $25 million to settle claims that it had attempted to
illegally export troposcatter communications equipment to the Pakistani
military. Raytheon agreed to pay $20 million to the ICE, $3 million to
the State Department, and to invest $2 million to upgrade its internal
export compliance program.
- Military Encryption Devices to China - On Oct. 18,
2002, the U.S. Attorney in Baltimore announced that two individuals had
been sentenced to jail terms for conspiring to export sensitive military
encryption devices to China via Singapore. The sale of these sensitive
items requires approval by the National Security Agency. In August 2001,
ICE agents arrested both individuals.
- Military Aircraft Components to Iran - On July 18,
2002, an individual was sentenced in the Eastern District of New York to
a jail term in connection with a scheme to export parts for 20-mm
aircraft canons and other military parts to Iran via a front company in
Switzerland. ICE agents arrested the individual in 2001.
- Nuclear Trigger Devices to Israel - On April 29,
2002, an individual was sentenced to jail in the Central District of
California in connection with a 1980-82 scheme to export to Israel
roughly 800 krytrons, which are high-speed timing devices that can be
used to detonate a nuclear warhead. Authorities in Spain arrested the
individual in July 2001 after 16 years on the run. He had been indicted
in the U.S. in 1985.
Report any potential human rights violators in your community to
1-866-DHS-2-ICE
# ICE #
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