In August, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) at Dulles International Airport seized a cache of firearms.
The firearms were found among a larger shipment of weapons on a chartered cargo flight. The weapons were being imported from Iraq by a U.S.-based international security firm.
The items found in the cache were 22 AR-15s, six AK-47s, one Glock 19 pistol, and one Night Sprint NVG night vision monocular.
“We believe the firearms were erroneously inventoried or shipped to the United States. The security firm has declined interest in the firearms and so Customs and Border Protection seized the unmanifested firearms,” said CBP Port Director for the Port of Washington, D.C. Christopher Hess. “This seizure clearly illustrates how closely Customs and Border Protection examines import manifests and identifies anomalies that could potentially harm our nation or our citizens.”
The security firm notified CBP in the beginning that they were going to import a shipment of firearms they exported to Iraq between 2004 and 2009. When the shipment arrived at the airport between Aug. 19 and Nov. 6, CBP detained it after discovering the firearms exceeded the security firm’s itemized inventory list. The shipment contained more than 6,000 items.
CBP gave the security firm the chance to claim the firearms; however, the company refused the items claiming it did not belong to them.
The international security firm remains anonymous as criminal charges are not being filed against the company.
The firearms will be destroyed if not claimed.