RPT-Four charged in attempt to ship firearms to Lebanon from Iowa

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May 12 (Reuters) - Four people have been charged in Iowa with trying to illegally ship 152 firearms and thousands of rounds of ammunition to Lebanon, according to criminal complaints unsealed on Tuesday.

Ali Herz, 50, a naturalized U.S. citizen from Lebanon; his brother Bassem Herz, 29; his son Adam Herz, 22; and Bassem Herz's wife, Sarah Majid Zeaiter, 24, are accused of delivering or providing a package or container without written notice that it contains firearms and ammunition.

The federal complaints were unsealed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Iowa. All four defendants are expected to appear in court on Tuesday afternoon.

The complaints did not say why the arms were being shipped to Lebanon.

Records showed the four had purchased at least 113 firearms from licensed gun stores in Iowa over the past 17 months at a total retail value of more than $100,000, the complaints said.

The investigation began when a federal firearms dealer in Iowa told agents in February about concerns over purchases of several firearms and thousands of rounds of ammunition by three men and a woman months earlier, the complaints said.

The dealer said the four had also bought 20 firearms at a gun show in late 2014 or early 2015, the three men had bought more firearms and ammunition on Feb. 19 at the store and Ali Herz had asked about buying 20 collapsible stocks for AR-15- style assault rifles, according to the complaints.

A search to determine if the firearms had been shipped or resold found that Herz Enterprises had shipped a container to Beirut, Lebanon, from Iowa in August 2014, and another shipment was being sent in March, the complaints said.

The second container was stopped in Norfolk, Virginia, and a search found 53 firearms, plus parts and accessories and more than 6,800 rounds of ammunition, the complaints said.

Authorities searched a third container on May 8, finding 99 firearms and more than 9,500 rounds of ammunition, the complaints said.

(Reporting by David Bailey in Minneapolis; Editing by Eric Beech) ((david.bailey@thomsonreuters.com; 312 371 4002; Reuters Messaging: david.bailey.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))

Keywords: USA IOWA/GUNS