U.S. deports Iranian arms broker arrested in 2007 sting

[Eugene]

Source: Reuters

U.S. deports Iranian arms broker arrested in 2007 sting

By John Shiffman

WASHINGTON | Tue Mar 13, 2012 11:42pm EDT

(Reuters) - An Iranian arms broker arrested during a U.S. Homeland Security sting in 2007 was deported back to Iran on Tuesday after serving 4-1/2 years in custody, two American law enforcement officials said.

Amir Hossein Ardebili, a weapons procurement agent from the Iranian city of Shiraz, was arrested during a U.S. undercover operation in the Republic of Georgia in October 2007.

Ardebili, 38, pleaded guilty in 2008 in a U.S. court in Delaware to attempting to buy restricted military-grade radar, gyroscopes and cockpit computers deployed in the F-4 fighter jet.

U.S. officials kept the case secret for years after the 2007 arrest, seeking to exploit the sales data found on the laptop computer Ardebili had brought with him from Iran. He was covertly extradited to the United States in early 2008, and U.S. prosecutors did not make the case public until late 2009.

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Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/03/14/us-iran-usa-ardebili-idUSBRE82D07820120314

[socialindependocrat]

1. So why did we deport him? Is he a "spy" now?

It's too bad that that's the way the government does business these days.
It's not punishing the wrong - It's let's send them back out and troll for bigger fish.

Let's build a network of informants.

The CIA just uses a few people and the intelligence network comes from
"the local community".

We trade our prisoners for their prisoners.

It's a big ebb and flow of criminals moving about in our society
in order to play this big political game of cops and robbers.
Some people watch too much TV! What a mess!

[TheWraith]

2. Nah, too obvious.

Somebody who was in US custody and released is never going to be trusted again by the Iranians.

[socialindependocrat]

3. Maybe they figure he's just a costly piece of baggage

and that he'll never be an arms dealer again and why should we support him by keeping him in prison.

Oh well....