British Columbia man accused of conspiring to obtain U.S. technology from Pakistan’s nuclear weapons program

A British Columbia man was detained in Washington state and charged with serving as a middleman, with years-long plot to smuggle U.S. technology through Canada to bypass laws aimed at limiting Pakistan’s nuclear ambitions.

Mohammad Jawaid Aziz and two unnamed accomplices allegedly obtained banned equipment for Pakistan’s military and weapons programs through a series of leading companies, according to an indictment filed in the U.S. District Court in Minnesota.

Court documents alleged that Aziz (also known as Jawaid Aziz Siddiqui) was stabbed by a secret U.S. government agent, an employee of a Minnesota company involved in the sale of mechanical equipment called linear drives.

The crimes in the undercover operation and indictment date back to 2019 – but U.S. authorities say Aziz was not arrested until March 21, and he is trying to cross Washington from British Columbia, where he is currently in custody, pending transfer to Minnesota.

In a statement, the U.S. Department of Justice claimed that from 2003 to March 2019, Aziz ran the “illegal procurement network” through a company called Diversified Technology Services Services, which he ran to his home.

“The purpose of the network is to obtain entities related to the country’s nuclear, missile and unmanned aircraft (UAV) program on behalf of entities prohibited by Pakistan,” the statement said.

“[Aziz] His accomplices worked to cover up the true end users of American companies, often using former companies and evading detection through third countries. ”

Purchase “dual use” items for restricted companies

Aziz is charged with conspiracy to violate the U.S. International Emergency Economic Powers Act and the Export Control Reform Act.

The allegations have not been proven in court.

According to the indictment, the 67-year-old is a citizen of Pakistan and Canada. His alleged co-conspiracy was a Pakistani national, linked to the Karachi-based international trading company, which is said to be a “company for the purchase of American goods for Pakistan’s prohibited entities.”

Since Pakistan first tested nuclear equipment in 1998, the court has documented detailed restrictions imposed by the United States to place “dual-purpose” American goods in the hands of organizations involved in the development of nuclear weapons, missiles and drones.

Many Pakistani government agencies and private laboratories are placed on the so-called “entities list”, including the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission in Islamabad.

“This is part of the way and means of the conspiracy of international trading companies to receive and process quotes and purchase orders from organizations on the list of Pakistan organizations or those leading companies in those organizations,” the indictment reads.

“Through diversified technical services and other businesses he uses for similar purposes, [Aziz] Contact U.S. companies to obtain goods required by Pakistani entities restricted by international trading companies. ”

U.S. prosecutors claim that the goods will be shipped directly to Pakistan or to a third country. Aziz also allegedly “sometimes receive merchandise at his residence in Canada.”

“They have commercial applications”

Court documents include a detailed list of hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of Aziz and his alleged accomplices, alleging purchases, including thermal conductivity units, digital video microscopes and a centrifugal pump.

The government’s sting occurred in 2019 and was partly buying goods worth about $5,520, which was said to be what a former company sought for the Pakistan National Development Complex.

Court documents alleged Aziz contacted a Minnesota-based company to secure the purchase, which could have delivered it to his address in Surrey.

But what is unknown to Aziz is that undercover agents took over letters about the order, telling Aziz to catch the goods at the border “due to government possession, probably customs, possibly due to government possession, and noting that the possible cause was “smuggling and export violations”.

The agent asked Aziz what the expected application of the technology was, and it was said that “they had commercial applications.”

“They cancelled the order now [to] This delay. ” Aziz allegedly wrote.

“Please carry items with you once published. We may find another customer.”

The alleged fine is 20 years.