San Antonio arrest linked to Iran

Web Posted: 01/31/2007 01:22 AM CST / Guillermo ContrerasExpress-News

Federal authorities in El Paso are investigating an international smuggling operation that allegedly tried to illegally export to Iran parts used in Hawk surface-to-air missile systems, which initially were developed for the U.S. military, court documents show. One of the members of the alleged conspiracy, Robert Caldwell of Portland, Ore., was taken into custody last week in San Antonio as he tried to buy batteries that power Hawk missile systems, according to a government court affidavit obtained Tuesday by the San Antonio Express-News.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents allege in the affidavit that the batteries were to be shipped to Iran, which the State Department lists as a state sponsor of terrorism.
The affidavit, however, doesn't mention the intended use of the batteries. Caldwell, 56, is jailed in San Antonio on a charge of conspiring to export without a license items regulated by the State Department's International Traffic in Arms Regulations. Caldwell is scheduled for a bail hearing in federal court in San Antonio today. The affidavit paints Caldwell, who owns a brokerage company that handles domestic procurement and exports, as a middleman in the scheme.
According to the affidavit, Caldwell told agents he was led to believe the batteries he sought have applications other than for powering systems for Hawk missiles, which were designed to down aircraft or other missiles. "He plans to enter a plea of not guilty, and we plan to see if we can get him released so we can more carefully explore the facts surrounding his role in the alleged offense in a more relaxed setting," said his lawyer, Van Hilley. "He's never been arrested, and all this is new to him." The Hawk missile system was developed in the 1950s for U.S. forces and saw action during Gulf War I, in the early 1990s, according to Redstone Arsenal Historical Information, an official Army Web site. "The missile is highly lethal, reliable and effective against electronic countermeasures," the site says. It also says newer, more advanced and longer-range missile technology largely has replaced the Hawk systems, but that other countries also received them as private contractors produced them. Iran has some in its arsenal obtained from other countries, according to historical listings compiled by the Center for Nonproliferation Studies in Monterey, Calif. The center, which tracks weapons of mass destruction and used public sources to compile the list, said some Hawk missiles were obtained by Iran during the Iran-Contra affair, in which the Reagan administration sold missiles to Tehran to fund rebels fighting to overthrow the Sandinistas in Nicaragua in the 1980s.
The court affidavit said the smuggling ring shipped "U.S. technology" to Iran using the United Kingdom or the Netherlands as go-between countries to disguise the shipments and that the group planned to use similar routes to ship batteries in the future. The State Department lists Iran among a handful of countries designated as state sponsors of international terrorism, and most items except food, medicine or other humanitarian items are barred from export from the United States to Iran. Munitions and their components require a license to be exported to any country. Caldwell's arrest is but a piece of the puzzle federal agents have been putting together since they investigated and arrested a suspect last year who tried to buy batteries for $5,000 apiece, the affidavit said. According to the affidavit, in an interview, the unnamed suspect told agents the batteries would be sent to Iran. Further investigation resulted in a meeting in San Antonio last Thursday with Caldwell, according to the affidavit. Caldwell came to San Antonio to handle the purchase and transportation of some of the batteries, the affidavit alleged. He was arrested by federal agents shortly after he checked in at an upscale downtown hotel. Caldwell had some documents relating to the purchase of some of the batteries, the affidavit said. It said Caldwell told the agents he was told the batteries he was buying were for navigational systems but acknowledged the items still required a license for export out of the United States. "Caldwell told (special agents) that he knew it was illegal to do this, but did not know the consequences," the affidavit said.