March 09, 2009

Iranian Arms Broker Sentenced to Live Years in Prison

FT. LAUDERDALE, Fla. - A 31-year-old woman was sentenced to more than five years in prison for illegally exporting defense articles to Iran following a joint investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and U.S. Department of Defense, Office of Inspector General, Defense Criminal Investigative Service.

Shahrazad Mir Gholikhan, a citizen of Iran who formerly lived in the United Arab Emirates, was sentenced on March 6, 2009, before U.S. District Judge James I. Cohn to a term of 63 months in prison.

Gholikhan was convicted on Dec. 18, 2009, after a two week trial, on charges of brokering the export of Generation 3 Night Vision Goggles from the United States to Iran, causing the export of defense articles to Iran and attempting to export defense articles to Iran in violation of the Iranian embargo regulations. The evidence showed that Gholikhan had sought to have up to 3,000 night vision goggles exported to Iran, along with other controlled military articles.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Michael Walleisa.

Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.

-- ICE --

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) was established in March 2003 as the largest investigative arm of the Department of Homeland Security. ICE is comprised of five integrated divisions that form a 21st century law enforcement agency with broad responsibilities for a number of key homeland security priorities.

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