TAMPA: A member of a ring that smuggled guns from the Tampa area to the Middle East was sentenced to 37 months in federal prison.
The conspirators purchased used cars, hide guns in them and then export the cars overseas, according to court records.
Eyad Farah, 42, a car dealer from Richardson, Texas, pleaded guilty in September to federal conspiracy and gun export crimes, the most serious of which carried up to 20 years in prison.
Last year, Yasser Ahmad Obeid, 20, of St. Petersburg, was sentenced to 51 months in federal prison for his role in the ring. At the time, Obeid’s lawyer said he was “the tip of the iceberg.”
Another defendant, Farah’s cousin, Mahmoud Abdel-Ghani Mohammad Assaf, 46, of Jordan, pleaded guilty in federal court in Tampa in March to illegally exporting arms. He has been cooperating against Farah, according to court filings, and is scheduled to be sentenced next month.
Assaf told an undercover agent that he helped the mujahideen and would provide them with weapons, according to a prosecution court filing, which says the conversation was recorded. He said he was motivated by his loyalty to Palestine.
Assaf traveled to Tampa and other parts of the U.S. and bought cars from auctions in Central Florida for use in smuggling firearms to Jordan.
