Posted on 12/06/2005 7:16:51 AM PST by humint
Homeland Security agents have arrested an Iranian man in Florida on charges that he attempted to smuggle $ 750,000 worth of restricted F-14 fighter aircraft parts out of the United States for use by the Iranian military, according to officials and court documents.
Serzhik Avasappian, 40, was arrested as part of a sting operation Sept. 19 at a hotel in Fort Lauderdale, where he allegedly met with an undercover agent from the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement and an informant, who were posing as weapons brokers, according to court documents.
Avasappian "held himself out to be a broker of aircraft parts, living in Tehran, who was trying to acquire parts on behalf of the Iranian government," according to an affidavit filed in U.S. District Court in Fort Lauderdale. He flew into the Miami area to arrange a test shipment in preparation for a larger purchase of F-14 fighter parts in the future, the documents allege.
The arrest is part of a broader crackdown by the bureau, which is part of the Department of Homeland Security, and other agencies on sales of arms to Iran in violation of the Arms Export Control Act. In July, federal agents raided the offices of 18 U.S. companies in 10 states that did business with a London company suspected of funneling weapons to Iran. A man arrested in 2001 was sentenced in connection with a plan to export aircraft cannons to Iran through Switzerland. According to court documents, undercover customs agents began negotiating with Avasappian in January 2002 to export military components to Iran. The discussions included parts for F-14 Tomcat fighter jets and C-130A Hercules transport planes, as well as the purchase and shipment of helicopters, the criminal complaint says. The U.S. agents repeatedly noted that shipping military parts to Iran would be illegal, but Avasappian suggested the parts could be shipped to Italy and flown secretly from there to Iran, according to the complaint. Avasappian allegedly faxed the customs agents a list of desired components for the F-14 valued at $ 750,000. He later requested a test shipment of 120 parts valued at $ 38,000 and arrived in Miami from London on Sept. 16 to finalize the deal, the complaint says. He lied on immigration forms by claiming to be visiting the United States to discuss the purchase of medical equipment, according to the documents. When he was arrested on Sept. 19, Avasappian allegedly admitted knowing that his attempt to smuggle military parts to Iran was illegal. Documents outlining the proposed weapons deal were found stuffed between the mattress and box spring in his hotel room, according to the complaint. "While these components may appear relatively innocuous to the untrained eye, they are tightly controlled for good reason," Jesus Torres, special agent in charge of the Miami customs office, said in a statement. "In the wrong hands, they pose a potential threat to Americans at home and abroad."
And he got into this country, how?
ARTICLE: He lied on immigration forms by claiming to be visiting the United States to discuss the purchase of medical equipment
Is the C-130 all that high tech ?
This link doesn't match up with the thread
Do you have another one?
Thanks
No but the Iranian regime and the MSM are bound to spin this the wrong way if we let them. Our Homeland Security Department did a great job preventing military hardware from going to Iran in 2003. I'd like all of us to recognize them in the context of sanctions enforcement. I'd also like us all to recognize the difference between the Iranian leadership and the people at risk on that plane today.
I hear you Humint. Many of us have had no compunction towards Iran, and little thought for innocent Iranians killed by the plane crash. But many of us also realise that normal, sane Iranians abhor the dictatorship that seeks to rule their lives: we must destabilise the present Theocracy and seed another working democracy in the ME.
LINK TITLE: The Center for International Trade and Security Export Control Newsletter No. 36
better dom it soon-regime change,or the dogs of war will be unleashed
Not terribly high-tech, but any four-engined turboprop is a pretty complex piece of machinery.
And, if the article is right in referring to the Iranian C-130s as C-130As, those things are OLD. The Herc has been around for fifty-one years. You know the Iranian ones are at least twenty-six years old (as they would have been delivered prior to the 1979 revolution), probably much older than that. Granted, there are thousands of planes that old flying safely around the world, but those have easy access to spare parts. The Iranians would have to get spares for their Hercs either through other countries, or through subterfuge like this.
}:-)4
This guy was an idiot. If he wanted to get the parts, all he had to do is contact the Venezuelan Air Force which has an office (base) in Miami, FL near the Walmart on SW 87th Ave and 12th St. which is near the Miami free zone. From there they could have either ordered the parts or if on-hand could have shipped it on one of their planes to Caracas. From Caracas, I'm sure he could have gottten to Iran much more efficiently.
Maybe you're right... All indications are that the Iranian regime still believes it can skirt U.S. sanctions and get more concessions by behaving badly. Our policies are designed to encourage the Iranian government to change in positive ways, but they just continue destabilizing the region by supporting terror groups, developing offensive weapons systems, buying defensive weapons systems and interfering in Iraq. It's as though the Iranian regimes' playbook has just one play - self destruct! One thing is certain; Iran needs a new coach and a new playbook. If Iran had a representative government capable of joining the community of nations this plane may not have crashed today killing so many non-combatants.
Death sucks no matter who dies or how they die. I am not a pacifist but my hatred of death, particularly violent death, encourages me to question and seek out answers. Here’s one way I do it. If we develop a "chain of responsibility" using empathy as a tool we can find out who was responsible if responsibility can be assigned...
I was not one of the mechanics that sent that plane into the air today however I imagine they will be questioned by government agents today. I am not one of the Iranian government regulators who authorized that plane to fly today however I imagine they will blame the mechanics and or U.S. sanctions. I did not impose sanctions on the Iranian regime however I believe the United States government was right to do so because of the destabilizing policies of the Iranian Government. I am not an official of the Iranian regime however I know the Iranian regime is a Theocratic Dictatorship and the ultimate arbiter there is Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei. I have never met Khamenei but this is what he says about the United States, a nation I know very well.
True democratic stability exists here in the United States because we conquer threats to liberty whenever they arise. Beyond our borders American leadership has ushered in a kind of health and global prosperity that isn’t realizable in the bygone era of competing dictatorships. I’m not necessarily arguing that the U.S. should begin a crusade against dictators around the world however I am saying that our mere existence is a threat to their existence. The real villain here is Khamenei. If we look, we can see it in this plane crash and we can see it in his words and we can see it in his policies. The MSM is just going to show us the burning rubble… we have to look past it so that this will be one of the last piles of burning rubble. Because… Death Sucks, particularly violent death.
ICE AGENTS ARREST IRANIAN IN PLOT TO ILLEGALLY -- EXPORT U.S. FIGHTER JET COMPONENTS TO IRAN
FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA. – Jesus Torres, the interim Special Agent-in-Charge of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Miami, today announced the arrest of an Iranian national on charges of attempting to illegally export restricted military components for the F-14 fighter jet aircraft to Iran.
Serzhik Avasappian, age 40, is charged in a criminal complaint in the Southern District of Florida with violations of the Arms Export Control Act (22 U.S.C., Section 2278) and the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (22 C.F.R., Sections 121.1, 121.3, 123.9, 127.1). The complaint alleges that Avasappian attempted to export these military components to Iran without obtaining the required export license from the U.S. State Department.
Avasappian, who held himself out to be a Tehran-based broker attempting to purchase parts for the Iranian government, appeared in federal court today in Fort Lauderdale for a detention hearing. ICE agents arrested Avasappian in an Embassy Suites hotel room in Miami on September 19, 2003, after a meeting with ICE agents in which he inspected F-14 components to be shipped to Iran, the complaint alleges. ICE conducted this investigation jointly with the Defense Criminal Investigative Service and the Broward County Sheriff’s Office.
"Keeping sensitive U.S. military components from falling into the wrong hands is one of the highest priorities of ICE," said interim Special Agent-in-Charge Torres. "While these components may appear relatively innocuous to the untrained eye, they are tightly controlled for good reason. In the wrong hands, they pose a potential threat to Americans at home and abroad."
According to the criminal complaint, ICE agents began negotiating with Avasappian in January 2002 over the export of military components to Iran. Among other things, the parties discussed the unlawful export of F-14 fighter jet parts, C-130A aircraft electrical and avionic upgrades, as well as the purchase and transshipment of helicopters to Iran, the complaint alleges.
During the course of the negotiations, Avasappian faxed the agents a list of components for the F-14 fighter jet totaling $750,000, the complaint alleges. In subsequent communications with the agents, Avasappian allegedly requested that they provide him with a “test” shipment of 120 F-14 fighter jet components valued at $38,000.
Although warned by agents that these controlled items could not be legally exported to Iran, Avasappian stated that the components could be shipped to Italy, where they could then be placed on an aircraft destined for Iran, according to the complaint. The complaint alleges that Avasappian said he was willing to come to the United States to finalize the “test” deal, and that if the deal was successful, he would purchase additional components valued at $750,000. On September 16, 2003 Avasappian arrived in Miami on a flight from London.
While being processed by U.S. Customs and Border Protection inspectors at the airport, Avasappian told inspectors that his intended business in the U.S. was to discuss the purchase of medical equipment and equipment related to chemical protection, the complaint alleges.
On September 19, 2003, ICE agents held a meeting with Avasappian in Miami in which he allegedly discussed the purchasing process used by the government of Iran. He also discussed the agreed-upon “test” purchase of F-14 components and the method of transporting these goods to Iran, according to the complaint.
After being shown several F-14 components by ICE agents, the complaint alleges that Avasappian agreed to contact Tehran to request the transfer of $15,000 to a bank account designated by ICE agents, with the remainder to be paid to agents upon the successful delivery of the F-14 components.
ICE agents arrested Avasappian in his hotel room shortly thereafter. After he was advised of his Miranda rights, Avasappian agreed to waive those rights and spoke with the arresting agents. According to the criminal complaint, Avasappian admitted knowing that what he was attempting to do was illegal. ICE agents found documents relating to the proposed transaction between the mattress and box spring of the bed in Avasappian’s hotel room, the complaint alleges.
Clarification... BTTT bump
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.