Federal law enforcement officials claim to have busted a gun smuggling operation based out of Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
A string of raids Tuesday resulted in four people taken into custody and charged with conspiring to send guns and ammunition to Lebanon under the guise of sending relief supplies to Syrian refugees. (Video via KGAN)
A federal complaint filed Tuesday says officials intercepted 152 firearms and 16,000 rounds of ammunition aboard two shipping containers bound for Beirut. The complaint says the weapons included .50-caliber Desert Eagle handguns and a variant of the AR assault rifle.
None of the suspects are licensed to sell firearms, but according to local reports they were buying up just about everything firearm-related in sight, and that's what caught the eye of federal officials.
"A gun store owner tipped off investigators that these four bought several guns and 'all' of the 5.7 mm ammunition that they had. After another purchase, that came to between two and three thousand rounds," KWWL's Michael Crowe reported.
The complaint didn't mention ties to any terror groups, although The Daily Beast claims one of the suspects is an apparent supporter of Lebanon's Shia militia turned political part the Amal movement.
The four face a hearing in federal court Friday.
This video includes images from weaponeer / CC BY NC 2.0 and Mitch Barrie / CC BY SA 2.0.
