The United States is trying to prosecute a man it’s accused of trying to smuggle parts for military-grade drones to the Pakistani military from Tucson.
Syed Vaqar Ashraf is accused of five different felonies, all related to international trafficking laws. They include conspiracy to export controlled defense articles, international money laundering and smuggling goods from the United States.
According to a grand jury indictment filed last month, Ashraf was CEO of I&E International based out of Lahore, Pakistan. He allegedly made contact with whom he believed was a representative of a Tucson company that managed exports of unmanned aerial vehicles for the U.S. military. According to an earlier indictment, filed in 2014, that person was actually an undercover agent for Homeland Security Investigations.
According to the most recent indictment, Ashraf wired funds and falsified documents to conceal the items he wanted to receive, over a two year period beginning in June 2012 and ending in August 2014.
In 2014, Ashraf forwarded emails requesting gyroscopes for UAVs, identified as a model VG 34-0803-3 gyroscope. It is a piece of equipment designed for long endurance missions flown by medium sized multi-payload UAVs. It is a piece of equipment regulated by the State Department and requires licensing to ship to Pakistan.
Ashraf allegedly filled out fraudulent documents in the name of a shell company, Innovative Links. The true customer, according to HSI, was the Pakistan Advanced Engineering Organization, a branch of the Pakistani Ministry of Defense.
Ashraf then wired four payments totaling $60,000 to Tucson. He wanted 18 gyroscopes and was willing to pay more than $340,000.
In February 2014, prosecutors say Ashraf ordered ten laser diodes to outfit on UAVs. The type he wanted also require licensing for shipment to Pakistan.
According to the initial indictment, Ashraf told undercover agents that his client was actually the Pakistan government and its military.
The gyroscope model Ashraf wanted was designed for the Israeli company Elbit Systems Hermes UAV, a drone used for reconnaissance capable of flying more than 20 hours. In 2014, Elbit Systems was awarded a contract for construction of the Homeland Security Department’s border towers along the Arizona-Mexico border.
It is not clear whether Ashraf is in custody in the United States. He does not appear in the Bureau of Prisons Inmate Locator. A federal judge ordered Ashraf to remain detained pending the trial. A spokesman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Phoenix declined to state whether Ashraf remains in custody. He declined to appear at his arraignment in Tucson, an attorney representing him is scheduled to enter a not guilty plea in February.
His attorney has not responded to our requests for information. The Pakistani Embassy also has not responded to our requests for information to determine whether Ashraf was truly acting on that government military’s behalf.
A trial is slated for mid-March.
Source: KVOA