Filipino National Admits Conspiring to Export Firearms Parts from the United States

A Filipino national today admitted his role in a conspiracy to smuggle more than $200,000 worth of firearms parts out of the United States.

Assistant Attorney General for National Security John P. Carlin, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman of the District of New Jersey, Special Agent in Charge George P. Belsky of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) Newark Field Division and Acting Special Agent in Charge Kevin Kelly of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement-Homeland Security Investigations (ICE-HSI) Newark Field Office made the announcement.

Kirby Santos, 38, of the Republic of the Philippines, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Noel L. Hillman of the District of New Jersey to an information charging him with one count of conspiracy to violate the Arms Export Control Act and U.S. anti-smuggling laws.

According to the documents filed in this case, other cases and statements made in court:

Santos admitted that from 2008 through October 2013, he and co-conspirators he met in the Philippines or through an online forum agreed to ship firearms parts from the United States to the Philippines.  Santos and others used credit cards and other forms of payment to purchase firearms parts from suppliers in the United States.  Knowing that they would not ship to the Philippines, Santos arranged for the suppliers to send the firearms parts to the addresses of conspirators in Toms River, New Jersey, and Lynwood, Washington, in order to make the purchases appear to be domestic sales.

At the direction of Santos, the co-conspirators, including Abelardo Delmundo, 53, of Toms River, would then repackage the firearms parts, falsely label the contents of the package and export the firearms parts to the Philippines for ultimate delivery to Santos.  To disguise their role in the conspiracy, the conspirators used aliases when sending the packages containing prohibited items.  Upon receiving the firearms parts, Santos paid Delmundo and other conspirators in the form of cash or wire transfers to others at their direction.

During the course of the nearly five-year long conspiracy, Santos and others purchased and directed the unlawful exportation of more than $200,000 worth of defense articles from the United States to the Philippines without the required export license.

Santos made his initial appearance in federal court on April 22, 2015, after being charged by criminal complaint with one count of conspiracy to violate the Arms Export Control Act and U.S. anti-smuggling laws.  Santos was arrested in Guam on March 31, 2015, by special agents of ICE-HSI and ATF.

The conspiracy charge to which Santos pleaded guilty is punishable by a maximum potential penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.  Sentencing is scheduled for Jan. 20, 2016.

Delmundo pleaded guilty to his role in the conspiracy on Apr. 30, 2015, and sentencing is scheduled for Dec. 10, 2015.

The case was investigated by ICE-HSI and ATF.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew T. Smith of the District of New Jersey and Trial Attorney Nathan M. F. Charles of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section.

Santos Plea Agreement