An Iraqi national living in DeKalb County faces up to a decade in prison after authorities said he attempted to smuggle three handguns and six long-range rifles through the Port of Savannah.
Nihad Al Jaberi, 41, was arraigned Monday in federal court, about seven months after customs officials intercepted the firearms shipment bound for Iraq, prosecutors said.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Georgia, the Clarkston man shipped the disassembled weapons last August in a container marked “71 Pieces of Spare Auto Parts.” The guns, which were reportedly mixed in with used car parts, had been purchased at various sporting goods stores across the Atlanta area, authorities said.
The weapons seized at the port included three pistols and and six .308-caliber rifles. Officials also found additional firearms during a search of Al Jaberi’s DeKalb home, authorities said.
Al Jaberi, an Iraqi citizen and permanent resident of the U.S., is charged with smuggling, failure to notify a common carrier, and submitting false or misleading export information. The smuggling charge alone carries a prison sentence of up to 10 years, according to acting U.S. Attorney David Estes.
Authorities did not say how long Al Jaberi has lived in the U.S. or who was set to receive the illegal weapons shipment.
“This weapons seizure clearly illustrates how closely Customs and Border Protection inspects export manifests and identifies anomalies that could potentially harm others,” said Henry DeBlock, Area Port Director for CBP Savannah.
The case is being investigated by the U.S. Department of Commerce, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
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