This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2017, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
A United Arab Emirates man who admitted he conspired to export sniper rifles from the United States to Belarus has been sentenced by a federal judge in Utah to five years of probation.
U.S. District Judge Dee Benson also ordered Kolar Rahman Anees Ur Rahman to forfeit more than $13,000 he sent to an undercover Department of Homeland Security agent as payment for the unlawful shipment of the weapons to the eastern European country.
Rahman, 47, was indicted in December 2015 with conspiracy to commit an offense against the United States, violating the Arms Export Control Act, smuggling goods from the United States and money laundering. He pleaded guilty to the four counts and was sentenced Jan. 30.
In a written statement, Rahman admitted that while he was living in the United Arab Emirates, he communicated via email and telephone in 2015 with the Salt Lake City-based undercover agent in an attempt to have 10 sniper rifles shipped to Belarus. He also acknowledged that he tried to have the .308-caliber rifles initially shipped to South Africa, knowing their final destination was actually Belarus, and wired $13,357 into the United States.
Rahman, who said he was acting as the broker/facilitator for two people in the United Arab Emirates, agreed to travel to the United States to discuss the rifle shipment and future business in person with the undercover agent, according to court documents.
He met with two Homeland Security undercover agents at a hotel near Chicago on Nov. 4, 2015, the documents say.
The two people in the United Arab Emirates who Rahman said were part of the conspiracy were named as defendants in a superseding indictment issued in June 2016. They have not been arrested yet.
Twitter: @PamelaMansonSLC