Bosnian Arms Dealer Sentenced to 60 Months in U.S. Prison for Trying to Broker Portable Air-Defense Missiles From North Korea

A Bosnian national, Sasa Micev, 43, was sentenced to 60 months in federal prison in New Mexico, the U.S. Department of Justice announced on October 14. Micev had pleaded guilty to violating the International Emergency Economic Powers Act and the North Korea Sanctions Regulations, in a conspiracy to broker the sale of man-portable air-defense systems - anti-aircraft missiles. The case was prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of New Mexico with the National Security Division's Counterintelligence and Export Control Section.

According to court documents, Micev is an international arms dealer. Working with a co-conspirator based in New Mexico and others, he sought in 2020 to evade Treasury Department restrictions under the North Korea Sanctions Regulations by brokering the purchase of SA-18 Igla portable surface-to-air missiles from North Korea, without the license or approvals required from the Office of Foreign Assets Control. Prosecutors say Micev repeatedly discussed unlawfully acquiring the missiles in 2020, provided pricing information and took part in efforts to obtain the weapons through falsified documentation, knowing the transactions were prohibited under U.S. and international law.

In late 2020, Micev and his co-conspirator traveled to Ankara, Turkey, to meet and complete the missile sale, but the deal fell through after a price dispute with the North Koreans. First Assistant U.S. Attorney Ryan Ellison said sanctions mean little if those who knowingly evade them face no consequences, and that the sentence holds Micev accountable for his role. Ryan G. McRae, acting special agent in charge of Homeland Security Investigations in El Paso, said circumventing export controls to facilitate illicit weapons trafficking poses a serious threat to national security and global stability. HSI's Albuquerque and Phoenix field offices investigated the case.

(Source: U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of New Mexico, October 14)

Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)

Photo: SA-16与SA-18便携式防空导弹及发射装置（资料图）。图片来源：Wikimedia Commons，美国政府作品，公共领域

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