New York Post
TWO MORE ARRESTS IN ARMS PLOT
By CARL CAMPANILE
March 19, 2005 — Two Armenians were busted as part of a multimillion-dollar
plot to ship shoulder-to-air missiles into the United States that could be
used by terrorists to shoot down airplanes, federal authorities announced
yesterday.
Eighteen other people involved in the scheme were arrested earlier this week
in New York, Los Angeles and Miami.
“There have been two additional arrests made by Armenian authorities based
on information we provided them concerning the supply of weapons,” Assistant
U.S. Attorney Benjamin Lawsky said during a hearing yesterday in Manhattan
federal court.
“This just shows that the plot wasn’t just talk. These were real weapons
with real people planning to ship them,” Lawsky said.
The two Armenians arrested were Vahajn Yeribekyan, 25, and Razmik
Barsenghyan, 32.
It is believed that the pair had photographed rocket-propelled grenade
launchers, shoulder-to-air missiles and other Russian weapons they planned
to smuggle into the United States through co-conspirators here.
What they didn’t know is that the FBI had conducted a sting on arms
smuggling, and the buyer they were dealing with was an informant.
The investigation continues. “We are working with our counterparts overseas
to get the weapons,” Manhattan U.S. Attorney David Kelley said.