LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Four Kentucky men are charged after a multi-agency investigation with conspiring to smuggle dozens of handguns into Iraq through the door panels of two cars.
The Louisville men were arrested this month, federal authorities announced. They said Haider Lazem, 41, Hasan Wasak, 27, and Abdullah Alsajee, 30, bought the weapons from gun shops and gun shows across the state and delivered them to 30-year-old Haitham Al-Dulaimi, who arranged the shipment.
Prosecutors allege Al-Dulaimi concealed the guns in packaging materials and placed them in the door panels of a Kia Forte and a Hyundai Elantra, The Courier Journal reported. The shipment was intercepted by police in January and 38 pistols and magazines were seized.
An indictment unsealed in October charges Lazem, Wasak and Alsajee with conspiracy to violate U.S. export control laws, making false statements and fraud. Al Dulaimi was also charged with conspiracy and fraud, along with smuggling and dealing in firearms without a license, the agencies announced.
Reached by the newspaper, attorneys for two of the men declined to comment on their arrests. All four men have currently been released from prison after surrendering their passports, the newspaper reported. Al-Dulaimi could face up to 40 years in prison if convicted on all charges, the newspaper reported. The three others face a maximum prison sentence of 35 years.