Thread: Illegally smuggled military jet ordered forfeited to US government

I.C.E. News Release

January 6, 2012
Birmingham, AL

Illegally smuggled military jet ordered forfeited to US government

AD-4N Skyraider aircraft to end up at National Naval Aviation Museum in Florida

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — A federal judge in Alabama has issued a forfeiture order for a Douglas AD-4N Skyraider aircraft after an investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) determined that it had been smuggled into the United States illegally.

On Dec. 21, Judge William M. Acker, Jr., U.S. District Judge for the Northern District of Alabama, ordered that the aircraft, log books, four 20mm M3 aircraft cannons and assorted aircraft parts be forfeited to the government as property brought into the United States in violation of U.S. law.

"The Skyraider aircraft, its cannons and parts are all subject to import licensing requirements as ‘defense articles' under the Arms Export Control Act. Federal law prohibits the importation of defense articles without a license or permit," said Raymond R. Parmer, Jr., special agent in charge of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in New Orleans. "ICE aggressively investigates these cases in order to deter this type of illegal activity and protect those who abide by our nation's laws." Parmer oversees responsibility for the states of Alabama, Mississippi, Arkansas, Tennessee and Louisiana.

Regulations and restrictions on the importation of defense articles exist in order to secure and protect the United States. Forfeiture is an appropriate remedy where a military aircraft is flown into the country without the proper authorization or license, under false pretenses and where an attempt was made to separately smuggle its cannons and assorted aircraft parts into the country.

The aircraft, owned by Claude Hendrickson, president of Dixie Equipment in Woodstock, Ala., was flown into the country in August 2008 without the required authorization from the U.S. Department of State. The pilot, who was hired by Hendrickson to fly the plane from France into the United States, provided false information to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers at the Port of Buffalo, N.Y., to gain admittance into the country.

The 20mm cannons arrived at the Port of Savannah, Ga., on Oct. 8, 2008, inside two 40-foot shipping containers being imported by Dixie Equipment. CBP officers discovered the cannons concealed in a wooden box, hidden under aircraft parts in the nose of one of the containers, although the cannons were not listed on the entry form, bill of lading, invoice or any other documentation submitted by Dixie Equipment.

CBP officers seized the cannons and aircraft parts on Oct. 15, 2008. The ICE HSI investigation following that seizure revealed the Skyraider aircraft had entered the United States illegally. ICE HSI agents seized the plane pursuant to a court order on April 24, 2009, at the Bessemer Airport, where it had been delivered to Hendrickson in August 2008.

Neither the State Department nor the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) had granted a permit, license or other written authorization for the importation of the Skyraider, the cannons or the aircraft parts at the time they entered the United States.

ICE HSI is now in the process of working to transfer the Skyraider aircraft, cannons, and assorted aircraft parts, including three Wright engines, to the U.S. Department of the Navy, National Naval Aviation Museum in Pensacola, Florida, for the purpose of preserving the aircraft's value as a significant and lasting part of our nation's Naval aviation history.

The case was handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney James Ingram, Northern District of Alabama.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is the largest investigative arm of the Department of Homeland Security.

ICE is a 21st century law enforcement agency with broad responsibilities for a number of key homeland security priorities. For more information, visit www.ICE.gov. To report suspicious activity, call 1-866-347-2423 or complete our tip form.

U.S. Dept of Homeland Security

http://www.ice.gov/news/releases/120...birmingham.htm

Douglas A-1 Skyraider

From Wikipedia

A-1 (AD) Skyraider

U.S. Navy A-1H Skyraider from Attack Squadron VA-152 over Vietnam in 1966.

Role
Attack aircraft

National origin
United States

Manufacturer
Douglas Aircraft Company

First flight
18 March 1945

Introduction
1946

Retired
1985 Gabonese Air Force[1]

Status
Phased out of service

Primary users

United States Navy
United States Air Force
Royal Navy
South Vietnam Air Force

Produced
1945–1957

Number built
3,180

Developed into
Douglas A2D Skyshark

The Douglas A-1 Skyraider (formerly AD) was an American single-seat attack aircraft that saw service between the late 1940s and early 1980s. It became a piston-powered, propeller-driven anachronism in the jet age, and was nicknamed "Spad", after a French World War I fighter.[2] The Skyraider had a remarkably long and successful career, even inspiring its straight-winged, slow-flying, jet-powered successor, the A-10 Thunderbolt II[citation needed].

It was operated by the United States Navy (USN), the U.S. Marine Corps (USMC) and the United States Air Force (USAF), and also saw service with the British Royal Navy, the French Air Force, the Air Force of the Republic of Vietnam (VNAF), and others.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Douglas_A-1_Skyraider

Beautiful aircraft they saved many lives in Vietnam: