Thread: Cedar Rapids family accused of smuggling guns to Lebanon

Cedar Rapids family accused of smuggling guns to Lebanon

Grant Rodgers, grodgers@dmreg.com4:40 p.m. CDT May 12, 2015


(Photo: Jim Slosiarek/The Gazette)


Four members of a Cedar Rapids family are facing federal firearms charges amid allegations that they illegally tried to ship at least 152 guns into Lebanon.

Prosecutors with the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Iowa filed criminal complaints Tuesday against Ali Afif Al Herz, 50, and the three others while authorities conducted searches in at least two locations in Cedar Rapids.

An investigation into the family's alleged smuggling operation has been ongoing since at least February, according to the complaints.

On March 26 and May 8, investigators searched shipping containers sent from Cedar Rapids and bound for Beirut, the capital city of Lebanon. The searches found approximately 152 guns and 16,300 rounds of ammunition hidden in Bobcat skid loaders inside the containers.

The containers were shipped by Herz Enterprises from the headquarters of Midamar Corp., a Halal food company at 1105 60th Ave. SW in Cedar Rapids, according to the complaint.

The food company was not implicated in the operation, however, since Midamar only rented shipping space to Herz Enterprises, said Mike Lahammer, an attorney for Midamar.

"There were no employees at Midamar who had any knowledge of any gun sales or transportation," he said.


Law enforcement officials at Midamar, 1105 60th Avenue SW, during a federal investigation in southwest Cedar Rapids, Iowa, on Tuesday, May 12, 2015. (Photo: Jim Slosiarek/The Gazette)

Lehammer said Midamar first learned about the investigation into the Herz family Tuesday morning when agents with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives arrived to search Midamar's headquarters for documents related to Herz Enterprises.

In February, an unidentified owner of an eastern Iowa gun store told a Department of Homeland Security special agent about a group of three men and a woman who made suspicious purchases at his store, according to the complaint written by Special Agent Christopher Cantrell. Several months earlier, the group had purchased several guns, as well as all the rounds of 5.7mm ammunition the store had in stock.

The store owner told the agent he'd seen the group buy approximately 20 firearms at an eastern Iowa gun show late last year or early in 2015, according to the complaint. On Feb. 19, the three men returned to the store and again bought all the 5.7mm ammunition available and put in requests to buy firearms accessories and 20 collapsible butt stocks for "AR-style" rifles.

In total, the group bought 19 handguns and rifles and between 2,000 to 3,000 rounds of 5.7mm ammo from the unidentified store. Additionally, Ali Herz bought parts to assemble 15 assault rifles, the complaint said. Agents' reviews of several other Iowa gun stores' records found the group purchased at least 113 firearms valued at more than $100,000 over 17 months.

The complaint notes that the family could have purchased additional guns in private sales or from stores whose records weren't reviewed by agents.

The four people identified by the store owner included Ali; his son, Adam Ben Ali AlHerz, 22; his brother, Bassem Afif Herz, 29; and his brother's wife, Sarah Majid Zeaiter, 24. All are U.S. citizens, except for Zeaiter, who is a lawful permanent resident, according to the complaint.

Law enforcement officials at Midamar, 1105 60th Avenue SW, during a federal investigation in southwest Cedar Rapids, Iowa, on Tuesday, May 12, 2015. (Photo: Jim Slosiarek/The Gazette)


A court appearance in Cedar Rapids for all four of the alleged conspirators is scheduled for 3:15 p.m. Tuesday, Assistant U.S. Attorney Steve Young said.

Young said he did not expect further information to be released on Tuesday about who was expected to pick up the gun shipments once they arrived in Beirut.

Investigators found that Ali Herz, who was born in Lebanon but is a naturalized U.S. citizen, had returned from an overseas visit Dec. 2, 2014, with $61,400 in cash, according to the complaint. Additionally, Adam Herz had been questioned while reentering the United States from Lebanon twice, in May 2012 and 2014.

On March 26, investigators found a shipment of 53 guns and 6,800 rounds of ammunition inside three Bobcat skid loaders inside a shipping container at the port in Norfolk, Va.

Many of the guns were hidden inside white plastic bags, similar to those used at Pizza Daddy, a Cedar Rapids restaurant connected to Bassem Herz that was searched on Tuesday morning, according to the complaint and the Cedar Rapids Gazette.

At least one of the guns was a Desert Eagle .50 caliber pistol, according to the complaint.

Along with the guns, boxes of clothing and honey were found inside the container in boxes that had "Syria" written on them.

Investigators found that on Feb. 24, Midamar organized a clothing drive intended to send supplies to Syrian refugees in Lebanon.

The container had been shipped from Cedar Rapids by truck to Chicago, where it was put on a train bound for Norfolk, according to the complaint.

A May 8 search of another container uncovered 99 firearms and 9,500 rounds, again inside Bobcat skid loaders.

Two days earlier, investigators conducting surveillance watched Adam and Ali Herz load at least one skid loader into the same shipping container.

Investigators also found that between Aug. 8, 2014, and Sept. 4, 2014, Herz enterprises shipped one container to Beirut that records indicate contained three Bobcat skid-loaders.

Between July 3, 2013, and March 9, 2015, Ali Herz sent and received wire transfers from Lebanon that had a value of more than $160,000, according to the complaints.

http://www.desmoinesregister.com/sto...ents/27180565/

I.C.E. News Release

COUNTER PROLIFERATION INVESTIGATION UNIT

05/12/2015

4 Iowa residents indicted for conspiracy to illegally ship firearms to Middle East

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa — Four east central Iowa residents were charged in federal court Tuesday for their alleged roles in a conspiracy to illegally ship weapons and ammunition to Beirut, Lebanon.

These indictments resulted from an investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), in cooperation with the FBI; and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. The following agencies provided extensive assistance with executing the May 12 search and arrest warrants: U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), U.S. Marshals Service, the Iowa Bureau of Investigation and Identity Protection, the Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement, the Iowa Department of Inspections and Appeals, the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation, the Iowa State Patrol; the sheriff’s offices of Linn, Fayette and Iowa counties; the Iowa police departments of Cedar Rapids, Hiawatha, Marion and Vinton; and the Johnson County (Iowa) Drug Task Force.

Ali Afif Al Herz, 50, Bassem Herz, 30, Sarah Zeaiter, 24, and Adam Ben Ali Al Herz, 22, all related to each other, and all from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, have each been charged with conspiracy to illegally ship a container or package containing numerous firearms and ammunition to the Middle East without notice to the shipper.

An affidavit, unsealed Tuesday, alleges that between about August 2014 and May 2015, three containers originating from Cedar Rapids were loaded with items including Bobcat skid loaders, clothing, and various other items with an intended destination of Beirut, Lebanon. The first container was shipped to Lebanon before the investigation was started, and was not interdicted.

Additionally the affidavit alleges that on March 26, 2015, a second container sent by the defendants, and bound for the Middle East, was stopped in Norfolk, Virginia, prior to loading aboard a ship. This container was found to contain 53 firearms and more than 6,800 rounds of ammunition hidden in three Bobcat skid loaders inside the container.

Finally, court records allege the defendants loaded and shipped a third container, also bound for Lebanon, from a Cedar Rapids business. This container was also searched and found to contain an additional 99 firearms and more than 9,500 rounds of ammunition. The firearms and ammunition in this final container were again secreted within two Bobcat skid loaders and placed inside the container.

Court documents also allege that of 152 firearms seized from the two shipping containers, about 66 of the firearms were purchased by the four defendants in Cedar Rapids and surrounding areas.

If convicted on all charges, each individual faces a possible maximum sentence of five years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a $100 in special assessment, and three years of supervised release following any imprisonment imposed.

Following their appearance in court, all four and were ordered held without bond. Ali Afif Al Herz must make an appearance as part of a detention hearing May 15. His brother Bassem Herz is being held in custody by the U.S. Marshals pending further proceedings. Bassem’s wife, Sarah Zeaiter Herz, will make an appearance for a detention hearing on May 15. Ali’s son, Adam Ben Ali Al Herz, will also appear May 15 for a detention hearing.

As with any criminal case, a charge is merely an accusation and a defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.

Anyone with information concerning this matter please contact HSI toll-free at 1-866-347-2423. Or you can email your tip to: http://www.ice.gov/webform/hsi-tip-form. All tips will remain confidential.

https://www.ice.gov/news/releases/4-...ms-middle-east