Three arms smugglers who bought Top Gun-style military equipment on eBay to sell to Iran have been jailed for their "complex and lucrative conspiracy".
Mohsen Akhavan Nik, his son Mohammad Akhavan Nik and Nithish Jaitha breached UK arms embargoes by arranging deals after importing a host of military parts to the UK via the bidding website.
Their complex plot involved an attempt to supply Iran with equipment for F-14 Tomcat fighter jets, similar to those which featured in the Hollywood blockbuster starring Tom Cruise, Southwark Crown Court was told.
Mohsen Nik and his son Mohammad Nik, who were granted political asylum in the UK having apparently fled from Iran in 1995, together with Jaitha, were caught after HM Revenue and Customs officers swooped on a consignment of oxygen cylinders at Heathrow Airport which were bound for Tehran.
Mohsen Nik, 49, and Mohammad Nik, 26, of Ascot, Berkshire, were jailed for five years and two years six months respectively while Jaitha, 43, of Chalgrove, Oxford, was sentenced to two years six months for conspiracy to export controlled goods.
The three sourced parts in the US through eBay to avoid export controls.
Iran's ageing jet fighters, including the F-14 Tomcat, F4 Phantoms, F5 Tigers and Cobra Attack helicopters can only be kept in service through parts purchased in the United States and then illegally shipped to Iran using fraudulent paperwork.
The items were sourced on eBay in the US and shipped to an address in Florida to avoid the need for an export licence. From there the goods were normally despatched under misleading descriptions to Iran via the UK, Romania or Hong Kong so as to overcome US export controls and obscure the final destination.
Peter Millroy, from Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs, said: "These men were involved in a complex and lucrative conspiracy to supply military equipment to Iran in contravention of a UK arms embargo. This is an excellent result dismantling as it does this particular supply route."
Mohsen Nik was also disqualified as a company director for seven years. A confiscation hearing has yet to be fixed.
