The U.S. Department of Justice filed a forfeiture complaint against one of the largest seizures of munitions shipments.
The forfeiture complaint was against the more than one million rounds of ammunition seized enroute from Iran to Yemen, according to a March 31 news release.
“This forfeiture action prevents ammunition and dangerous weapons from falling into the wrong hands and highlights the importance of our investigative work to deny criminal and terrorist networks their instruments of violence and destruction,” Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro N. Mayorkas said in the release. “I am extremely proud of the critical investigative role played by Homeland Security Investigations alongside our law enforcement and Department of Defense partners in a collaborative whole-of-government effort.”
With significant support from the U.S. Naval Forces Central Command in carrying out the seizure, the Homeland Security Investigations Washington field office and the Defense Criminal Investigative Service Mid-Atlantic field office are in charge of the larger investigation of the Iranian weapons-smuggling network, the release reported
The U.S. Navy intercepted more than one million rounds of ammunition, thousands of rocket-propelled grenade proximity fuses and thousands of pounds of rocket-propelled grenade propellant Dec. 1, 2022, as they were being transported from Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps to militant groups in Yemen, the release said.
“The United States disrupted a major operation by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps to smuggle weapons of war into the hands of a militant group in Yemen. The Justice Department is now seeking the forfeiture of those weapons, including over one million rounds of ammunition and thousands of proximity fuses for rocket-propelled grenades,” Attorney General Merrick B. Garland said in the release. “The Justice Department will be relentless in holding accountable those who break our laws and threaten our national security.”
This action is part of a larger investigation of sanctioned Iranian entities suspected of trafficking advanced weapons systems and components to directly support military actions by the Houthi movement in Yemen and the Iranian regime’s campaign of terrorist activities throughout the region which pose significant threats to U.S. national security, according to the release.
