South Florida: An arms smuggler's paradise

[Judi Lynn]

Posted on Sun, Sep. 19, 2010
South Florida: An arms smuggler's paradise
BY JAY WEAVER
[e-mail]

Miami seems more and more like the Casablanca of movie legend.
This month, a Palestinian man and a Cuban migrant were charged in an FBI counter-terrorism probe with plotting to buy hundreds of stolen assault rifles, high-tech bombs and remote-control detonators to ship to the West Bank.

Shortly before that, Miami Beach arms wunderkind Efraim Diveroli -- already convicted of selling banned Chinese-made munitions to the Pentagon -- was arrested on new firearms charges in Brevard County after he allegedly tried to import rounds of ammunition from South Korea.

And two years ago, a ring of foreigners and businesses was charged with illegally supplying electronic parts to Iran via South Florida for explosives that could be used to target American soldiers in Iraq.

The disparate cases are among dozens of South Florida prosecutions alleging illegal arms trafficking, weapons exports, embargo violations, and shipments of ``dual-use'' military and commercial technology -- a sign of heightened federal enforcement in the post 9/11 era.

Known as an international marketplace for drugs and money laundering since the days of Miami Vice, the region has expanded into a viable gateway for arms smuggling -- not only to Latin America but also to the Middle East and Far East.

More:
http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/09/18/1831539/s-fla-becoming-gateway-for-arms.html

[flamingdem]

1. More lovely news from the Road Rage capital of the USA! nt

[Judi Lynn]

2. Didn't know Miami is noted for that characteristic. Not good! n/t