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US authorities arrest business man for allegedly trying to ship weapons to Lebanon

25-12-2013 | 11:39

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US authorities arrest business man for allegedly trying to ship weapons to Lebanon

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ABC News reported that the federal authorities have arrested a businessman in Virginia for allegedly attempting to ship dozens of weapons and high-tech devices to Lebanon.

Sam Rafic Ghanem, owner of the international shipping company dubbed Washington Movers International, was arrested Saturday after an FBI sting.

According to court documents filed in the case, the intended recipient of the weapons has not yet been unveiled, but at Ghanem has claimed that he was recently asked to obtain two guns for an unnamed member of the Lebanese government.

The said documents added that over the past few months, Ghanem and a former employee of his company who turned out to be an undercover FBI agent, planned a scheme to send weapons to Lebanon by hiding them inside automobile parts shipped by the company.

Sources noted that Ghanem’s arrest was not the first time the FBI visited him, explaining that the FBI agents questioned him two years ago after two guns were found hidden in a car shipped by his company.

According to a profile posted online, as of two years ago, Ghanem was a follower of Druze and he was an active member in the faith’s community. He served on the board of the Washington-area chapter of the American Druze Community. He is married with three children.

Ghanem has been charged with one count of “attempted export of defense articles” in violation of the Arms Export Control Act. If convicted, he faces five years in prison and a fine of $50,000.

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