Feds Arrest Iranian for Attempt to Export Weapons to Iran
Jim Kouri, CPP
November 28, 2006
An Iranian citizen and permanent resident was arrested last Tuesday night at Detroit Airport after airport officers found rifle scopes, stun guns, and numerous other prohibited items in his luggage for his trip to Tehran, Iran.
The items were discovered Sunday by Customs and Border Protection inspectors, while the investigation is being handled by agents with the Department of Homeland Security's Immigration and Customs Enforcement Directorate.
Forty-nine year old Fereidoon Kariman was in the process of boarding Northwest Airlines flight 68 when he was stopped and questioned by CBP officers. After initially questioning him, they pulled Kariman’s checked luggage from the plane to investigate further. In the luggage they discovered: one BSA laser with mounting rails and remote switch, one pair of laser range-finding binoculars, two reloading presses with dies for 30.06- and .270-caliber ammunition, one pepper spray canister, one pair of camouflage two-way radios, one 12-volt spotlight, two Taser stun-gun devices, nine boxes of rifle ammunition pre-loaded without powder or primer; and six firearm scopes.
Exporting these items to Iran without obtaining licenses or permits from the US Department of State or Department of Commerce violates the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, according to ICE officials.
Enforcing the IEEPA is a critical mission for our ICE agents,” said Brian Moskowitz, special agent in charge of the ICE Office of Investigations in Detroit. “ICE’s enforcement puts teeth into this Act, and helps protect national security.”
Kariman, a resident of Florida, stated that he recently started his own import/export business called Imports Express. However, he stated that he has not shipped anything recently due to the strained relations between the US and Iranian government.
Kariman boarded a flight to Detroit from Orlando, Florida, on the morning of November 19. He checked his luggage through to his final destination, Tehran, Iran. He planned to change planes in Detroit, and again in Amsterdam, and then retrieve his luggage in Iran on Nov. 20.
On November 21, an arrest warrant for Kariman was obtained in the US District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan for violating the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. Federal agents apprehended Kariman at the Detroit Metropolitan Airport before he could execute his alternate travel plans to Iran. Kariman made his initial appearance before a Magistrate and was detained pending a hearing scheduled for November 27.
President Bill Clinton signed Executive Orders in 1995 prohibiting any new investments in, or unauthorized exports to Iran by persons residing in the US. These orders have been continuously renewed, most recently by President Bush. The embargo is in effect through March 2007. Violating IEEPA carries a potential penalty of a $250,000 fine, 10 years imprisonment, or both. But the case is still being investigated and any indictments could be amended.
The items were discovered Sunday by Customs and Border Protection inspectors, while the investigation is being handled by agents with the Department of Homeland Security's Immigration and Customs Enforcement Directorate.
Forty-nine year old Fereidoon Kariman was in the process of boarding Northwest Airlines flight 68 when he was stopped and questioned by CBP officers. After initially questioning him, they pulled Kariman’s checked luggage from the plane to investigate further. In the luggage they discovered: one BSA laser with mounting rails and remote switch, one pair of laser range-finding binoculars, two reloading presses with dies for 30.06- and .270-caliber ammunition, one pepper spray canister, one pair of camouflage two-way radios, one 12-volt spotlight, two Taser stun-gun devices, nine boxes of rifle ammunition pre-loaded without powder or primer; and six firearm scopes.
Exporting these items to Iran without obtaining licenses or permits from the US Department of State or Department of Commerce violates the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, according to ICE officials.
Enforcing the IEEPA is a critical mission for our ICE agents,” said Brian Moskowitz, special agent in charge of the ICE Office of Investigations in Detroit. “ICE’s enforcement puts teeth into this Act, and helps protect national security.”
Kariman, a resident of Florida, stated that he recently started his own import/export business called Imports Express. However, he stated that he has not shipped anything recently due to the strained relations between the US and Iranian government.
Kariman boarded a flight to Detroit from Orlando, Florida, on the morning of November 19. He checked his luggage through to his final destination, Tehran, Iran. He planned to change planes in Detroit, and again in Amsterdam, and then retrieve his luggage in Iran on Nov. 20.
On November 21, an arrest warrant for Kariman was obtained in the US District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan for violating the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. Federal agents apprehended Kariman at the Detroit Metropolitan Airport before he could execute his alternate travel plans to Iran. Kariman made his initial appearance before a Magistrate and was detained pending a hearing scheduled for November 27.
President Bill Clinton signed Executive Orders in 1995 prohibiting any new investments in, or unauthorized exports to Iran by persons residing in the US. These orders have been continuously renewed, most recently by President Bush. The embargo is in effect through March 2007. Violating IEEPA carries a potential penalty of a $250,000 fine, 10 years imprisonment, or both. But the case is still being investigated and any indictments could be amended.
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