PITTSBURGH - A Pittsburgh resident has been sentenced in federal court to probation for a term of three years, with a condition of six months’ home detention on his conviction of smuggling goods from the United States, United States Attorney David J. Hickton announced today.
Senior United States District Judge Maurice B. Cohill imposed the sentence on Tarek Mohamed Chok, 50.
According to information presented to the court, on or about Sept. 18, 2012, Chok shipped a Springfield, Model 1911,.45 caliber pistol via FedEx from Pittsburgh to Lebanon. The package containing the firearm was intercepted in Dubai. On the shipping declaration, Chok declared the contents of the package to be a “car lock, keys, and student documents." When approached by agents of DHS about his shipment, Chok initially lied and stated that the firearm in question, which records indicate was purchased by him, was “stolen" from him. Eventually, Chok admitted that he had, in fact, sent the firearm via FedEx, that he had lied to agents about it, and he misrepresented the contents of the package because he believed that if he had listed the true contents of the package, FedEx would not have sent the package.
Assistant United States Attorney James T. Kitchen prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.
U.S. Attorney Hickton commended the Department of Homeland Security for the investigation leading to the successful prosecution of Chok.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
