CONCORD, NEW HAMPSHIRE – Acting United States Attorney John J. Farley announced today that Audi N. Sumilat, 37, of El Paso, Texas, was sentenced to 18 months in federal prison for participating in a scheme to illegally buy guns that were then smuggled to Indonesia by members of the security detail of the Indonesian President and the Vice President -- also known as the Presidential Guard of the Republic of Indonesia. Sumilat previously pleaded guilty to a charge that he conspired to make false statements in connection with the purchase of export controlled firearms and smuggling them out of the country.

          According to court documents and statements made during court proceedings, Sumilat conspired to buy guns in Texas and New Hampshire for members of the Presidential Guard with the understanding that the guns then would be smuggled out of the U.S. Specifically, Sumilat – while on active duty with the U.S. Army – admitted that he and three members of the Presidential Guard came up with the plan in October 2014, when they were all stationed together for training in Fort Benning, Georgia. As part of the plan, in the summer of 2014 and in September and October 2015, Sumilat purchased guns in Georgia and Texas for members of the Indonesian Presidential Guard that they could not lawfully buy in the U.S. themselves. To facilitate those purchases, he falsely certified to the gun dealers that he was the actual buyer of the guns. Sumilat delivered some of the guns to co-conspirators in the New York City area and shipped others to a co-conspirator, Feky R. Sumual, in New Hampshire. Sumual, in turn, delivered the guns and other firearms he illegally purchased to members and representatives of members of the Presidential Guard, who were in the U.S. on official state visits in Washington, D.C., and with the U.N. General Assembly in New York, N.Y. Finally, Sumilat acknowledged that, he understood that the members of the Presidential Guard then would smuggle the illegally purchased guns from the U.S. to Indonesia on the Indonesian president’s official government airplane. The firearms were listed as defense articles on the U.S. Munitions List. To export them legally, an exporter’s license and a license covering the specific guns was required. No such licenses had been issued.

          Diplomatic negotiations between the Department of State and the Republic of Indonesia resulted in the recovery and destruction of twenty-three of the illegally purchased and exported firearms.

          Acting United States Attorney Farley noted, “Firearms exported illegally can easily end up in the wrong hands. The U.S. Attorney’s Office will vigorously prosecute international gun trafficking to protect innocents, both American and foreign, from the criminal use of U.S. weapons abroad.” Farley added, “The fact that the guns were bought for, and transferred to, members of another country’s security force presented some unique challenges in the investigation that led to this prosecution. The diligent work of our law enforcement partners allowed them to detect this scheme and develop the evidence needed to shut it down, in spite of those challenges.”

         United States District Judge Paul J. Barbadoro, who sentenced Sumilat, also ordered Sumilat to serve two years of supervised release upon completing his prison term.

         Sumilat’s co-conspirator, Feky R. Sumual, previously pleaded guilty to a conspiracy charge and was also sentenced to 18 months in prison.

         This matter was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms in both Manchester, N.H., and in El Paso, Texas, as well as Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations, in Manchester, N.H., and the U.S. Department of State's Diplomatic Security Service. The Dover (N.H.) Police Department and the Indonesian National Police provided important support. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Morse

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