Newsday, NY
April 15 2005
Suspected arms smuggler heads to court
BY PATRICIA HURTADO
STAFF WRITER
A man suspected of conspiring to import weapons into the United
States has been arrested by FBI agents in Armenia and is slated to be
presented before a Manhattan federal court judge Saturday morning,
officials said Friday.
The man, Armen Barseghyan, was brought to New York on a flight to
Kennedy Airport Friday, said sources, who spoke on the condition of
anonymity.
Barseghyan is just the latest individual to be charged in an ongoing
case that was announced last month by the office of U.S. Attorney
David Kelley in Manhattan. In that case, 18 men were charged with
attempting to import military weapons, including surface-to-air
missiles, into the United States and sell them to a confidential
informant who was posing as an arms buyer working for al-Qaida.
Kelley said at the time that when he announced those charges that the
defendants claimed to have various sources for their weaponry,
including individuals in Armenia, Chechnya and the Georgian Republic,
as well as former members of the Soviet Union’s secret police known
as the KGB.
Investigators also announced at the time that they had seized a
variety of deadly weapons, including rocket-propelled grenades and
AK-47s. Anti-tank weapons were also promised in future shipments,
officials said.
Kelley said his office was working with federal law enforcement
officials overseas to disrupt the pipeline and identify others
involved in the importation of these weapons.
Friday, Herb Hadad, a spokesman for Kelley, confirmed Barseghyan’s
arrest and his presentment Saturday but declined further comment on
the charges against Barseghyan.