NEW YORK - Eighteen people were charged Tuesday with seeking to smuggle Russian-made heavy weapons into the United States, US attorney David Kelley announced here.
The arrests, some of which were made early Tuesday, stemmed from a year-long wiretap investigation in which an informer posed as a weapons trafficker selling arms to terrorists, according to Kelly, FBI and New York police.
Kelly said it was "a complaint charging 18 individuals with various weapons trafficking offenses, including a scheme to smuggle rocket-propelled grenade launchers (RPG), shoulder-fired surface-to-air missiles and other Russian military weapons into the US for sale."
An Armenian living in the United States for 26 years, a 33-year-old South African and a 52-year-old Georgian, all living in New York, have been charged in the case.
"The defendants are also charged with conspiring to traffic in machine guns and other assault weapons," Kelly added.
Arrests were made in the case in New York, Los Angeles and Florida.
According to the 61-page indictment, the informant bought eight assault weapons from the arms vendors in the United States during the course of the investigation.
Two of the suspects met with the FBI informant in New York in June 2004 to work out the details of a sale, carrying with him a list of weapons for sale. Several phone calls took place between the two parties.
Again in February 2005 the same two men provided photographs of weapons coming from Armenia. They also gave the informant the address of a Russian Internet website with a password to enter and access photographs of assault weapons, rocket propelled grenades and anti-tank weapons.
The two men were arrested late Monday ahead of a trip to eastern Europe to buy the items and after a final meeting with the informant, Kelly said.
The men now face up to 30 years of prison, while the other 16 face between five and 20 years behind bars.
The FBI "is currently working with Armenian and Russian authorities to secure the weapons and to arrest the responsible parties abroad," the indictment read.
03/15/2005 19:02 GMT