Agency WPS
DEFENSE and SECURITY (Russia)
March 21, 2005, Monday

THE USA INTERCEPT RUSSIAN MISSILES

SOURCE: Kommersant, March 17, 2005, p. 10

by Sergei Strokan

The U.S. authorities unsealed a federal criminal complaint against 18
people, the majority of them being immigrants from the CIS. Breaking
up a network of international arms smugglers who sold black-market
assault rifles and were plotting to import military weapons –
including anti-aircraft missiles and antitank guns – has been a
result of the unique operation the FBI conducted within the past
year.

At a news conference in New York David N. Kelley, the United States
attorney in Manhattan, declared details of this detective story,
which involves not Russians, Armenians and Georgians alone, but even
a South African. In his words, the U.S. special services managed to
break up and arrest an “international” arms ring led by Artur
Solomonyan, an Armenian, and Christiaan Dewet Spies, a South African,
who have been living illegally in New York. (…)

According to Mr. Kelly, the smuggled arms, mainly of Russian origin,
was purchased in Georgia, Armenia and some states of Eastern Europe.
It is a mystery how the arms were getting to the USA via three points
simultaneously – New York, Los Angeles and Miami, despite toughened
border control and unprecedented anti-terrorist measures the U.S.
special services have employed over the past several years. According
to Mr. Kelly, before detention the arms ring sold eight illegal
weapons, including two AK-47’s and an Israeli-made Uzi.

As reported by the U.S. sources, breaking up a network became
possible as a result of a unique yearlong special operation, in which
colleagues from Armenia, Georgia and South Africa helped the FBI.
(…)

The fact that in addition to small arms the range of items included
grenade launchers, anti-aircraft missiles and antitank projectiles
proves the scope and opportunities of the smugglers’ actions. As
reported by Fox News, the smugglers planned to get $2 million for
homing missiles delivered to the USA alone. (…)

It is noteworthy that the scandal surrounding the smuggling of
Russia-made weapons into the USA, which include manpads, broke out
shortly after the Putin-Bush meeting in Bratislava, under discussion
at which was the painful topic of trade in manpads and, specifically,
the chances of international terrorists for getting these
installations. The USA had earlier repeatedly warned Moscow that
Russia-made weapons of this class, which enable to arrange
large-scale terrorist attacks, in particular drop aircraft, could get
into the hands of “unreliable persons.” New evidence emerged on March
16 that concerns of the Americans are not unfounded.