OKLAHOMA CITY – An Edmond man is accused of shipping firearms to the Middle East illegally.
Randy Lew Williams, 57, was arrested March 2 and made his initial appearance in federal court here before U.S. Magistrate Judge Gary M. Purcell the next day. An affidavit in support of a criminal complaint alleges that the Federal Bureau of Investigation Legal Attaché in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, notified the FBI Oklahoma City Field Office that a FedEx shipment had been seized on Dec. 19, 2018. The shipment contained multiple Glock pistol parts “concealed inside toolboxes and tools,” an FBI agent reported; documentation indicated the shipment was sent from Williams, at an address in Oklahoma City. The commercial invoice indicated the shipment contained tools and that the intended recipient was Rebwar Hamid in Sulaymaniyah, Iraq.
During an interview with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) authorities in Chicago on Jan. 8, 2019, Williams said he met Reb- war Hamid in 2015 when the latter was a commander of the Peshmerga group, which is described in the affidavit as “a Kurdish guerrilla organization that fights for a free Kurdish state in Iraq.” Williams also told CBP that he “had previously fought” with Rebwar Hamid and spent time at his home in Sulaymaniyah, and that he “stays in contact” with Hamid through Facebook.
GUNS, PARTS CONCEALED, SUSPECT WIRED $12,761
Nearly five weeks after the FedEx shipment was seized in Abu Dhabi, Dubai authorities and the FBI re-examined the shipment and discovered more Glock gun parts concealed alongside reciprocating saws in the cargo, the agent wrote. The FBI learned from FedEx on Dec. 30, 2019, that the shipment was returned to a FedEx facility in south Oklahoma City, where it was picked up by an “R. Williams” on Nov. 27, 2019. Records of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) identified Williams as having bought 10 Glock pistols and some Glock parts in Oklahoma City between July 19 and Sept. 1, 2018. Three of those pistols and some of the Glock parts were “discovered concealed within the shipment,” the FBI agent wrote in his affidavit.
Additionally, FBI authorities later learned that between January 2018 and October 2018, Williams received $12,761 in 13 wire transfers from Sweden. Williams later admitted he received the wire transfers “for the purpose of purchasing firearms,” and also acknowledged having sent two rifles to Iraq “hidden with torque wrenches,” the FBI agent states in his affidavit. Williams indicated that after the package was intercepted in Dubai, individuals attempted to “talk him ‘out of coming back home’ but he decided to return to the U.S., the affidavit reports. On Feb. 25, 2020, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service notified the FBI that Williams was living at an apartment complex in Edmond, where he was a maintenance worker.
4 CHARGES FILED
The affidavit states that Williams did not have a Federal Firearms License from the ATF or authority from the Department of Defense to export defense articles (i.e., weapons) outside the United States. The federal complaint charges Williams with four criminal counts: 1) shipping firearms in foreign commerce without a license, 2) shipping firearms in foreign commerce without notifying the carrier, 3) illegally smuggling firearms from the U.S., and 4) conspiracy to smuggle firearms from the U.S.
If found guilty of counts 1, 2 or 4, Williams faces a maximum potential penalty of five years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.00. If found guilty of count 3, he faces a maximum potential penalty of 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000. Each count carries a term of supervised release of up to three years. “This case is a result of an investigation by the FBI – Oklahoma City Field Office, the ATF, and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Investigations, with assistance from the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol, the U.S. Department of State, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service,” plus the Oklahoma City and Edmond police departments, U.S. Attorney Timothy J. Downing said.