Posted on 03/15/2005 8:46:10 AM PST by 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.
Err....no need to answer my question, then.
Ping
(link to photos here)
U.S. V. ARTUR SOLOMONYAN, ET AL.
March 15, 2005
Newly unsealed charges against eighteen (18) defendants accused of involvement in a scheme to smuggle surface-to-air missiles ("SAMs") and rocket-propelled grenades ("RPGs") into the U.S, and the sale of machine guns and other assault weapons.
http://news.findlaw.com/hdocs/docs/gunlawsuits/ussolomonyah31505ind.pdf
Federal Prosecutors
http://pview.findlaw.com/view/2164775_1
Defense Attorneys
http://lawyers.findlaw.com/lawyer/practice/Criminal%20Law
FindLaw's Criminal Law Center
http://criminal.findlaw.com/
Crimes: From A to Z
http://criminal.findlaw.com/crimes/a-z.html
The Stages Of A Criminal Case
http://criminal.findlaw.com/crimes/criminal_stages.html
e. SOLOMONYAN asked the CI if the CI’s buyers for the weapons had “dark skin,” which the CI took as a reference to people of Middle Eastern descent. The CI asked SOLOMONYAN how he knew this, and SOLOMONYAN responded that such people have money and are interested in buying explosives and weapons.
Wow...thanks, now you have given me a lot of reading to do. Mark for later. Thanx again.
page 14
d. The CI asked SOLOMONYAN about the “stingers,” and SOLOMONYAN reiterated to the CI that he wanted to complete a deal for the “fliers” first. SOLOMONYAN then acknowledged that his group already had weapons systems inside the United States, but he stated that these weapons were already earmarked for other customers. SOLOMONYAN further explained to the CI that if the deal for the weapons that were already in the country fell through, the CI would then have the opportunity to purchase these weapons.
Why dont I ever get a chance at these deals ???
Oh right, assault weapons are illegal...
41. On or about June 9 and June 11, 2004, agents surveilled two separate meetings in Manhattan among SOLOMONYAN, SPIES and the CI, during which, among other things, SOLOMONYAN showed the CI a list with different types of weapons and their prices that he said he could get for the CI, including RPGs and claymores (a type of explosive). In addition, during the June 11th meeting, the CI placed an order for numerous weapons from SOLOMONYAN and SPIES, including but not limited to, RPGs, stingers, AK-47's and other machineguns. The CI inquired as to whether the price listed for the stingers was correct because it seemed low in the CI’s opinion. SOLOMONYAN indicated that he would look into this matter. SOLOMONYAN informed the CI that he could also obtain enriched Uranium for the CI which, SOLOMONYAN suggested, could be used in the subway system. Also during the June 9 and June 11 meetings, SOLOMONYAN explained to the CI that he had three possible sources from which to obtain the weapons that the CI ordered. Finally, the CI discussed with SOLOMONYAN and SPIES the possibility that the CI could supposedly obtain fraudulent green cards for SPIES and SOLOMONYAN through the CI’s purported connections. These meetings were consensually recorded and videotaped.
But Sarah Brady and Josh Sugarman said that they could just go and buy them at gun shows!
It was stated during the news conference that many, if not all, of these guys were illegal. I'd love to know how and where they came in. Over the border or visa over stay?
I wonder how much of this info was gathered as a result of the EVIL Patriot Act ;-)
I concur.
I am so sick and tired of all this BS! It would be so easy to get anything into this country undetected if you realy wanted to. If I was a terrorist I could get anything across the border, it is not hard and I mean anything.
Yep caught that. Interesting isn't it and two were ILLEGALS.
'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.'
What a nice change from the Clinton years. Also nice to see them going after foreigners now too. Notice the Bastards And Total F***heads weren't involved.
"...Angry white men..."?
Yes, in all probability, Presbyterians.
Might be Norweigan Presbyterians.
East: FBI Breaks Weapons-Smuggling Ring Linked To Russia, Caucasus
Truth News
http://www.truthnews.net/month/2005030026.htm
By Nikola Krastev, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
Truth News:
A lengthy investigation by U.S. agents has led to 17 people in New York, Los Angeles, and Miami being charged with various weapons-trafficking offenses. Armenian and South African nationals are among those arrested in connection with an alleged scheme to smuggle rocket-propelled missiles, machine guns, grenade launchers, and other Russian military weapons into the United States for sale. Prosecutors say the case raises alarm over the willingness of traffickers to sell arms to terrorists.
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty:
New York, 16 March 2005 (RFE/RL) -- Prosecutors allege that the defendants were preparing to import various assault weapons -- including antitank missile systems -- into the United States from countries in Eastern Europe.
The United States attorney for the Southern District of New York, David Kelley, said in announcing the arrests on 15 March that the suspects have been under close surveillance for more than one year.
"As part of the overall scheme," Kelly said, "five of the defendants were charged with plotting to import into the United States various military weapons, including rocket-propelled grenade launchers, which are known as RPGs, shoulder-fired surface-to-air missiles, known as SAMs, and those were from Armenia, the Republic of Georgia, and other Eastern European countries."
While the weapons involved could have inflicted major casualties, Kelley said there is no sign the smugglers possessed weapons of mass destruction.
"Throughout this investigation," Kelley said, "through our eavesdropping of some 15,000 conversations by the defendants, or through countless surveillances 24-7 [around the clock] by the agents and investigators, we did not see any indication that the defendants had any capacity to obtain uranium or other chemical or biological weapon material. It didn't happen."
Two of the alleged ringleaders were identified as Artur Solomonyan, an Armenian citizen living in New York and Los Angeles, and Christiaan Dewet Spies, a South African citizen also living in New York.
Another defendant, Vato Machitidze, was shown on television as he was led handcuffed after his arrest in Manhattan.
A criminal complaint charged five of the participants with conspiring to transport destructive devices and 13 others with weapons trafficking. One of the 13 is still at large.
The FBI says the suspects proposed selling weapons to one of its informants who was posing as an arms buyer with ties to Al-Qaeda. They supplied him with digital pictures from a warehouse allegedly in Armenia, showing caches of Russian-made weapons.
The complaint charges that the defendants knew that the weapons may have been used for terrorist activities in the United States, particularly for bringing down commercial aircraft.
Andy Arena is a special FBI agent. "The criminal complaint charging the defendants reads like a Hollywood script, with one important distinction," Arena said. "Unlike the escapist fiction of a Hollywood thriller, the plot unveiled today was undeniably real."
The U.S. authorities said the sting operation was conducted with the assistance of law-enforcement authorities in Georgia and Armenia.
John Loftus, a former U.S. Justice Department prosecutor who closely follows terrorism issues, tells RFE/RL that Russian authorities also appeared to be very helpful in the investigation.
One of the weapons offered for sale, the Hornet antitank missile, is capable of penetrating the U.S.-made Abrams tank, according to arms experts. Among the other weapons offered for sale was the Igla missile, a shoulder-fired heat-seeking missile that can shoot down a commercial airplane.
The FBI says the defendants actually sold one of their informants eight machine guns and assault weapons, delivering them to warehouses in New York, Los Angeles, and Miami. The agency alleges the defendants offered to provide many more sophisticated weapons. The FBI says there were also discussions at some point concerning the delivery of uranium to be used for attacks in U.S. subways.
If convicted on all charges, the two alleged ringleaders each face up to 30 years in prison.
Authorities say the FBI is working with Armenian and Russian authorities to secure the weapons that were bound for the United States.
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