Apprehended At SFO In December
Federal authorities
revealed last week a woman suspected of selling sensitive military
technology to Iran and China was apprehended in December 2007 at
San Francisco International Airport.
Citing court documents and an unnamed government official, ABC
News reports Laura Wang-Woodford was arrested at SFO December 23,
as she returned to the United States to ostensibly visit her
elderly mother for the holidays. That celebration never happened;
customs agents met her flight from Singapore, and took
Wang-Woodford into custody.
Wang-Woodford runs a business in Singapore called Monarch
Aviation. Agencies including the FBI, and Immigration and Customs
Enforcement, say she has used the business as a front to sell
millions of dollars' worth of munitions over the past 16 years.
According to a 2003 federal indictment, Wang-Woodford and her
husband, British national Brian Woodford, sold sensitive technology
to Iran through Monarch. One official present at Wang-Woodford's
apprehension at SFO said she had several documents relating to
recent deals through Monarch, as well as a catalogue of
surface-to-air missiles and rocket launchers, and information
related to Chinese missile systems.
"An examination of the defendant's luggage revealed two
merchandise catalogues from the China National Precision Machinery
Import and Export Corporation ("CPMIEC")," reads a letter filed
with New York District Court. "The United States Treasury
Department has specifically designated CPMIEC as a Weapons of Mass
Destruction proliferator. Due to this designation, all United
States persons and entities are strictly prohibited from engaging
in business with CPMIEC."
The letter also details Monarch's alleged sales of banned
technology to Iran, including parts for Chinook helicopters and
other equipment. "Specifically, the defendant illegally exported
vane assemblies and bevel gears which are designed for Chinook
military helicopters," it says.
Officials also assert
in the letter, "Monarch has been in the lucrative import/export
business in Singapore for over fifteen years, and during that
period is known to have exported goods worth millions of
dollars."
The indictment adds the Woodfords used aviation-related
businesses in Connecticut, Missouri, and Texas to sell aircraft
parts to Monarch... which subsequently re-exported that equipment
to Iran, without obtaining required licenses... as far back as
1998, though officials believe the sales go back much further.
"As part of the charged conspiracy, the defendants falsely
listed Monarch in Singapore as the ultimate recipient of the parts
on export documents filed with the US government," according to a
US District Court release. "The aircraft parts allegedly exported
to Iran include aircraft shields, shears, "o" rings, and switch
assemblies."
On Friday, Woodford pleaded not guilty to all charges, and was
ordered to be detained without bail by United States Magistrate
Judge Viktor Pohorelsky. Authorities are still working to locate
Brian Woodford.
ANN's Daily Aero-Linx (04.16.24)
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