Two arrested in scheme to export military parts to Iran

By CNN's Terry Frieden at the Justice Department

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Federal agents have arrested two men in California for a scheme to ship restricted military aircraft and missile parts from the U.S. to Iran through Malaysia.

A Canadian citizen originally from Iran and a Malaysian citizen were taken into custody in Bakersfield, and charged with conspiracy and violation of arms export controls. They were expected to make an initial appearance in a federal court in San Diego on Friday.

U.S. Customs Service officials said the arrests mark the end of a 22-month investigation by customs agents and the Department of Defense's investigative service.

Saeed Homayouni of Canada and Yew Leng Fung of Malaysia are accused of shipping components for U.S.-made F-14, F-5, and F-4 aircraft as well as the Hawk Missile to Iran.

Following the arrests, a federal judge unsealed affidavits by customs agents.

"The F-14 Tomcat Fighter Aircraft is flown by two military services in the world, the United States Navy and the Iranian Air Force. It is (this agent's) belief this was a procurement in support of the logistics program to supply spare parts to the Iranian Air Force," the affidavit reads.

According to the document, the investigation against Homayouni's firm Multicore Ltd. began in February,1999, after a tip from a vendor of military aircraft. The informant said Multicore had requested prices for parts to the F-14 fighter aircraft which had no commercial application and required a license for export.

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