Will the possibility that the final destination of these scopes was not Oman, and that they were intended for jihadis, be investigated at all? Or would that be “Islamophobic”? On what basis can the possibility be discounted?
“Oakland couple accused of trying to illegally export rifle scopes to Oman,” by Angela Ruggiero, Bay Area News Group, September 3, 2020:
OAKLAND — Two Oakland residents have been accused of trying to ship night vision rifle scopes to Oman.
Fares Abdo Al Eyani, 37, and Saba Mohsen Dhaifallah, 38, were with attempting to ship night vision rifle scopes from the Port of Oakland to the Sultanate of Oman, according to the U.S. States Attorney’s office. They were charged last month in a criminal complaint unsealed last week.
The two are accused of working together to purchase devices with night vision capabilities over the last half of 2019, then trying to send those items and firearms to the Middle Eastern country of Oman in shipping containers from Oakland….
According to the complaint, Al Eyani and Dhaifallah were engaged in a scheme to export a set of night vision rifle scopes without a license. The Arms Export Control Act and International Trafficking in Arms Regulations make it illegal to export such scopes without registering with the directorate of defense trade controls and getting a license….
Inside one shipping container authorities inspected in November 2019, investigators found four disassembled firearms, including three handguns and one rifle, wrapped in aluminum foil and packed between car parts in one of four vehicles in the shipping container, according to the complaint. Also, 39 rounds of ammunition and two magazines were also found, the complaint says.
In December 2019, the duo allegedly attempted to export the rifle scopes they purchased by hiding them inside a shipping container, the complaint says. Law enforcement thwarted the scheme when they searched the container and found the scopes….
Photo by Davide Mauro – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=91306774