Iowa Family Arrested Smuggling Weapons to Middle East

An Iowa family is behind bars after an investigation discovered they were shipping massive amounts of weaponry and ammunition to Lebanon.

The Des Moines Register reports that members of the Al Herz family, led by 50-year-old Ali Afif, tried to send at least 152 guns and 16,300 rounds of ammunition to a contact in Lebanon. The smuggling operation began in at least Feb. 2014.

The weapons were stashed inside Bobcat heavy machinery that was inside a shipping container addressed to Beirut. The guns were sent inside a shipping container used by a Halal food company called Midamar. The company did not know about the guns however, as it rented out space in the container that was carrying other goods.

The investigation began in Feb. 2014 when a gun store owner reported suspicious purchases to the Department of Homeland Security. Among their many purchases from the store was its entire stock of 5.57 mm ammunition. The group also purchased an assortment of 19 handguns and rifles from the same store.

The same gun store owner also said he saw the suspects purchase 20 guns at a single gun show.

The group is said to have spent more than $100,000 on weapons and ammunition over 17 months.

In Dec. 2014, Ali Herz traveled to Lebanon and returned with more than $60,000 in cash. The people receiving the weapons and making the payments for them have not been yet been publicly identified.

Ali Herz also sent and received wire transfers totalling more than $160,000 between July 2013 and March 2015.