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The War Profiteers - War Crimes,
Kidnappings, Torture and Big Money |
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June 26th,
2008 - Feds Raid Blackwater’s NC Armory in Firearms Probe |
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Feds Raid Blackwater’s NC Armory
in Firearms Probe By Mike Baker Associated Press June 26, 2008 Raleigh, N.C. - Federal
agents raided Blackwater Worldwide this week as part of an investigation into
whether the private security company sidestepped federal laws prohibiting the
private purchase of automatic assault rifles, the company said Thursday. Blackwater spokeswoman Anne
Tyrrell said investigators with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and
Explosives searched Blackwater's armory at its corporate headquarters in
Moyock on Tuesday as part of the investigation. Court documents show that
agents seized 22 guns as evidence from a vault dedicated to county
authorities. The company signed
agreements in 2005 in which Blackwater financed the purchase of 34 automatic
weapons for the Camden County Sheriff's Office. Sheriff Tony Perry became the
official owner of the weapons, but Blackwater was allowed to keep most of the
guns at its armory. Federal laws prohibit
private parties from buying automatic weapons, but allows law enforcement
agencies to have them. One of the 2005 agreements
says the weapons will be kept under "lock and key" and doesn't
describe whether Blackwater would use the guns. "We believe all aspects
of our contacts with the sheriff's office are lawful and proper,"
Tyrrell said, adding that the ATF has known about the arrangement for a long
time. Tyrrell also said federal
authorities have known about the weapons for years and that investigators got
a complete look at the company's cache in 2005 after two employees were
fired. Kenneth Wayne Cashwell and
William Ellsworth "Max" Grumiaux were sentenced this year on
gunrunning charges, but they were spared prison time after federal
prosecutors asked a judge to approve a lighter sentence because of their
ongoing cooperation in a weapons investigation. Blackwater said it fired the
men after finding they had been stealing from the company. Cashwell operated
Blackwater's armory in 2005, Tyrrell said. "When these guys were
fired, we invited (ATF) in to do a full search of everything we
possessed," Tyrrell said. "They did a full audit, and those weapons
were there at that time." She said it is not unusual
for Blackwater to store automatic weapons because the company is licensed to
sell, provide training on, or even manufacture firearms. Both ATF and U.S. Attorney
George Holding declined to comment. The 2005 agreements give the
sheriff's office unlimited access to the weapons, including 17 Romanian
AK-47s and 17 Bushmasters. But Perry has said his department has only used
the AK-47s in shooting practice at Blackwater and that none of his 19
deputies are qualified to use them. The 34 weapons are
registered in the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record to the
Camden County sheriff. The AK-47s and five of the Bushmasters were stored and
used at Blackwater while the remainder of the weapons were assigned to local
deputies, Perry had said. Those numbers match with the guns listed on the
search warrant receipt filed Wednesday. The sheriff did not return
calls seeking comment Thursday. Blackwater is the largest
private security firm in Iraq, and it has been under scrutiny as a federal
grand jury in Washington investigates the company's involvement in the
shooting deaths of 17 Iraqi civilians. The firm is also under investigation
for possible weapons smuggling allegations - violations the firm strongly denies. Associated Press Writer Matt
Apuzzo contributed to this report from Washington. Copyright © 2008 The
Associated Press. External link: http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5jiM0qSFLYuMsEGS6gjVvgAnxbsvQD91HV9QO1 |