1010 Wins, NY
April 16 2005
Armenian Brought to NY to Face Weapons Charges
Apr 16, 2005 8:17 am US/Eastern
(1010 WINS) (NEW YORK) A man who allegedly photographed
rocket-propelled grenade launchers and other weapons in a plot to
smuggle the deadly machinery into the United States has been brought
from Armenia to the United States for trial.
Herbert Haddad, a spokesman for U.S. Attorney David Kelley, said
Armen Barseghyan would appear in U.S. District Court in Manhattan in
the next week to face charges contained in indictments charging 20
defendants.
It was not immediately clear who would represent Barseghyan in court.
Barseghyan was accused in court papers of photographing
rocket-propelled grenade launchers, shoulder-to-air missiles and
other Russian weapons that were supposed to be smuggled into the
United States.
The plot was broken up by an FBI informant who posed as an arms buyer
with ties to terrorists, prosecutors said as they announced charges
in the case last month.
In the case, U.S. investigators went to South Africa, Armenia and the
Georgian Republic, put wiretaps on seven phones and intercepted more
than 15,000 calls.
An 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.