Pak national arrested in US on charge of weapon smuggling

A Pakistani national has been arrested by the US law-enforcement authorities on charges of illegally exporting weapons to Malaysia, American media reports said.

New York, July 22 : A Pakistani national has been arrested by the US law-enforcement authorities on charges of illegally exporting weapons to Malaysia, American media reports said.

Jilani Humayun, 59, was charged with 11 counts of violating the Arms Export Control Act, one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering, reports said.

The Dawn reported that the charges carry up to 150 years in prison if found guilty.

The US authorities charged in court papers that Humayun formed a company, Vash International Inc, in January 2004 to export defence equipment, including tanks, guided missiles, and rocket launchers.

Humayun used Vash 11 times between January 2004 and May 2006 to export to an unidentified company in Malaysia F-5 and F-14 fighter jet parts and Chinook helicopter parts, the charges read.

Prosecutors said Humayun admitted to federal agents that he did not know who the end-users were for the items that were shipped.

They said he also admitted that he undervalued the shipments on his export paperwork so the company could avoid paying Malaysian customs duties.

The reports cited US Attorney Michael Garcia as saying, that it was well documented in public reports that the sole customer of F-14 parts is the Iranian Air Force.

"The details of the crime with which Jilani Humayun is charged are particularly disturbing, as he is alleged to have knowingly shipped technology as dangerous as F-5 and F-14 parts to Malaysia without any regard for the ultimate destination," Garcia charged.

ANI