Three charged with sending drone parts to Hezbollah
US authorities have charged three men with conspiring to export drone parts and technology from the US to Hezbollah.
The US Attorney’s office for the state of Minnesota said two of the suspects – brothers Usama and Issam Hamade – were in custody in South Africa, while Samir “Tony” Berro remained at large.
All three are Lebanese citizens.
Usama “Prince Sam” Hamade also has South African citizenship, while Berro and Issam Hamade are also UK citizens.
The US considers Hezbollah, which has used drones since at least 2004, a terrorist organisation.
The indictment alleges that the conspiracy operated from 2009 until December 2013. It says the equipment included electronics that can be used in drone guidance systems, a jet engine and 20 piston engines that can be used in drones, and a pair of digital video recording binoculars.
The updated indictment unsealed on Friday was dated October 11, 2017, but the original was filed in 2015 and sealed to keep the investigation secret from the three men.
The brothers were arrested on Tuesday in South Africa for extradition to the US to face trial in Minnesota, according to another prosecution filing on Friday. They appeared before a magistrate there and were ordered held, pending another hearing on February 26.
Usama Hamade is a South African resident. The filings do not say where Issam lives, but
that he would visit his brother in South Africa.
The parts involved in the alleged conspiracy included inertial measurement units that can be used to track an aircraft’s position, and digital compasses that can be paired with the measurement units for drone guidance systems.
The indictment does not name the companies that made the parts, but the model names and numbers indicate that the IMUs were made by Californian company Systron Donner Inertial and that the digital compasses were made by Honeywell International’s operations in Minneapolis.
The jet engine was sold by an unidentified Indiana company, while the piston engines were sold by a Florida company. The model number indicates the digital binoculars were made by Sony. None of the items could legally be exported to Hezbollah, the indictment said.
Berro controlled SAB Aerospace, based in Dubai, the indictment said, adding that the defendants had most of the items shipped to Lebanon and Hezbollah through South Africa.
Usama Hamade falsely claimed the measurement units and digital compasses would be used in drones in South Africa to monitor wildlife to prevent poaching, the indictment said.
As part of the conspiracy, the indictment said, Issam Hamade made nearly $174,000 (Dh639,015 ) in wire transfers from a Beirut bank to accounts controlled by his brother.