5 people, 4 companies indicted in Iran exports

PETE YOST, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — Five people and four companies have been indicted for allegedly plotting to export 6,000 radio control devices to Iran, including 16 of the items that were found in improvised explosive devices in Iraq, the Justice Department announced Tuesday.

Authorities in Singapore arrested four people in the case Monday. The fifth defendant is a resident of Iran who remains at large.

According to the indictment, in 2008 and 2009, U.S.-led forces in Iraq recovered numerous radio controls manufactured by a Minnesota firm used in a remote detonation system for IEDs.

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The radio devices can transmit data wirelessly as far as 40 miles with a powerful antenna.

Some of the defendants also are accused of conspiracy involving exports of military antennas to Singapore and Hong Kong.

The defendant who is at large, Hossein Larijani, is a citizen of Iran. The four people arrested are all citizens of Singapore. They are Wong Yuh Lan, Lim Yong Nam, Lim Kow Seng and Hia Soo Gan Benson.

Wong, Nam, Seng and Hia allegedly conspired in the shipment of 6,000 of the radio control devices from a Minnesota company through Singapore to Iran. Seng and Hia also are accused of conspiring to ship military antennas from a Massachusetts company to Singapore and Hong Kong.

The indictment in federal court in Washington, D.C., alleges conspiracy to defraud the U.S., smuggling, illegal export of goods from the U.S. to Iran, illegal export of defense articles from the U.S., false statements and obstruction of justice.

Assistant attorney general Lisa Monaco says the charges underscore the ongoing threat posed by Iranian networks seeking to obtain U.S. technology. Monaco runs the Justice Department's national security division.

In a coordinated move, the Commerce Department added the five defendants and 10 other persons and companies associated with this alleged conspiracy in China, Hong Kong, Iran and Singapore to its Entity List. With this move, the Commerce Department required that the 15 obtain a license to export any item subject to Commerce regulation, with a presumption that such a license would be denied.

(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)