FBI Press Conference: 17 of 18 suspects arrested in Sting Operation for Illegal Weapons

FOX news | March 15, 2005 | Jamie Fox

[CitizenM]

Sting operation by FBI- Press Conference just on FOX: 17 of 18 defendents arrested for attempting to purchase weapons from an undercover FBI agent. One wanted to buy uranium to make a nuclear device in a subway system. FBI spokesperson emphatically stated that did not come to fruition, but the suspect did ask the question.

FBI was not involving itself in the end user, the sting operation was focusing on the people who were attempting to purchase the weapons for further sale/distribution. FBI taped over 15,000 phone calls made by the men trying to purchase. Very Dangerous weaponry including: grenade launchers, shoulder fired missles, (russian) and others.

[hushpad]

Good job FBI. Now, how many have you NOT caught?

[italianquaker]

lot less if the nyslimes dnc had there way

[Steve_Seattle]

Any word on the . . . uh . . . ethnic background or religious affiliation of these individuals? Angry white men?

[CitizenM]

From the story on the FNC website (see above posts for links):

Using a digital camera provided by the informant, members of the ring, which included Armenians and South Africans, provided pictures of the weapons they said they had available for sale, the official said.

The pictures, apparently taken somewhere in Armenia, show anti-tank missiles, a Russian missile launcher and a recoilless anti-tank rifle, among other weapons, the official said.

Arrests have been made in New York, Miami and Los Angeles, the source said.

[USS Alaska]

In the words of Rummy, " There are known,unknowns and unknown, unknowns". This is an unknown, unknown, or no answers to stupid questions.

[fight_truth_decay]

18 are charged in Russian weapon-smuggling plot
http://www.nydailynews.com/front/breaking_news/story/290141p-248356c.html


THE ASSOCIATED PRESS


U.S. authorities have charged 18 people in an alleged plot to smuggle grenade launchers, shoulder-fired missiles and other Russian military weapons into the country, according to a criminal complaint unsealed in Manhattan.
The arrests resulted from a year-long investigation in which an FBI informant posed as an arms buyer with ties to terrorists, and indicated he had ties to al-Qaida.

The case, which took U.S. investigators to South Africa, Armenia and the Georgian Republic, also included wiretaps on seven phones and interceptions of more than 15,000 calls, according to prosecutors, the FBI and police.

The informant, an explosives expert, contacted the FBI after he was approached by a man who said he had access to weapons from the former Soviet Union and believed the informant could find a willing buyer, federal prosecutors said.

Over the following year, the informant purchased eight assault weapons: three in New York, three in Los Angeles and two in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Using a digital camera, alleged ring members, which included Armenians and South Africans, provided pictures of the weapons they said they had available for sale, prosecutors said.

The pictures, apparently taken somewhere in Armenia, showed anti-tank missiles, a Russian missile launcher and an anti-tank rifle, among other weapons, officials said.

Seventeen of the 18 people charged were in custody on Tuesday - two arrested in Miami, five in Los Angeles and the remainder in New York. Prosecutors alleged that the defendants were preparing to import the weapons, including anti-tank missile systems, into the country from Eastern Europe.

A criminal complaint unsealed in U.S. District Court in Manhattan charged five men with conspiring to transport destructive devices in interstate and foreign commerce and 13 others with weapons trafficking for their roles in supplying machine-guns and other assault weapons destined to be sold to the informant.

According to the complaint, the informant met two of the defendants, Artur Solomonyan and Christiaan Dewet Spies, on several occasions in New York City to discuss the details of their weapons deals, including in-depth discussions about the specifications and prices of various weapons that the defendants could ship into the United States.

The court papers said that during a June 2004 meeting in New York City, Solomonyan provided the informant with a list of weapons for sale that included stinger missiles, AK-47s and claymore mines.

Solomonyan, 26, an Armenian citizen living in New York and Los Angeles, and Spies, a South African citizen living in New York, were arrested Monday night at a lower Manhattan hotel after meeting one last time with the informant to finalize their plans to travel to Eastern Europe to arrange the importation of the military weapons, prosecutors alleged.

If convicted, Solomonyan and Spies each face a maximum of 30 years in prison. It was not immediately clear who would represent them in court.

The FBI, which arrested them before they could leave the country to allegedly obtain the weapons, is working with Armenian and Russian authorities to secure the weapons and to arrest the responsible parties abroad, authorities said.

The defendants also are charged with conspiring to traffic in machine guns and other assault weapons, and with selling the eight weapons during the investigation.

[fight_truth_decay]

Joseb Kharabadze, one of the charged
18 people, is led in handcuffs by federal agents from FBI / Photo: AP

Over the following year, the informant purchased eight assault weapons in locations around the country. Using a digital camera provided by the informant, members of the ring, which included Armenians and South Africans, provided pictures of the weapons they said they had available for sale, the official said.

The pictures, apparently taken somewhere in Armenia, show anti-tank missiles, a Russian missile launcher and a recoilless anti-tank rifle, among other weapons>

http://www.mosnews.com/news/2005/03/15/weaponssmuggle.shtml

17 are in custody (FoxNews)..activities were for al Qaeda related hits within the US. It's not over yet. Authorities are going into Eastern European countries to round up other suspects for questioning. Next, the subject of discussion will turn to our legal right to go into other countries for arrests..watch and see.

[spunkets]

Yes, and there's the phrase about the FBI involving itself in the end user. LOL.

[cherokee1]

Don't make too much of this---It's reminiscent of a couple decades ago when FBI types were setting up store fronts to buy automatic weapons and such from miscellaneous dirtbags who thot they were selling to militias or IRA buyers. In this case the buyer seems to be one of our own guys. The 18 dumass sellers were trying to get some up-front cash by flashing some pics that are probably available from Janes. No mention of how the Russian Bazooka was to be brought here? It's tougher than the story implies. One would hope that the Feds are continuously running these ops to turn up bigmouth chizelers who usually talk a helluva story but just need to be charged with STUPIDITY an put away in a high security pre-school.

[spunkets]

It was hte English I was commenting on.

"No mention of how the Russian Bazooka was to be brought here? It's tougher than the story implies."

It's very easy to do. They can be brought in by the 1000s w/o be detected.

[cake_crumb]

"Y'all remember that this was a sting operation by the FBI. Terrorist who would do the same thing would be harder to catch."

Terrorists would be just as likely to be caught, and have been during FBI sting operations.

[cake_crumb]

"Good job FBI. Now, how many have you NOT caught?"

Did you forget a sarcasm tag?

[Wolfstar]

See the companion photo thread on this story here: freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1363359/posts

[hushpad]

This is an unknown, unknown, or no answers to stupid questions.<<<


Stupid question? I should have put a sarcasm tag on it.

[USS Alaska]

Accept my apologies, me dumb, I didn't get it.

[CitizenM]

Wow....I know. LOL I laughed about that afterward, too. I was trying to type it as it was being announced. This just proves I should put it in Word first and do a "cut and paste." And I do writing/editing! Hope none of my own editors or clients are on FR and recognize me. What a goof-up I can be sometimes, when I am rushing. (Hopefully, not when I take my time!)

[hushpad]

Did you forget a sarcasm tag?


Yes! It seemed to upset at least one poster. Alaska a bit. So sorry!

[hushpad]

Accept my apologies, me dumb, I didn't get it.



I was gonna talk to you on my post to cake crumb, but my apology to you got cut off! Sorry to forget the tag!

[spunkets]

I thought that was J. Fox's work and that was published mat'l.

[CitizenM]

hehe...don't I wish I had thought of that excuse!