LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Four men have been arrested and charged with conspiracy to violate the Export Control Reform Act, smuggle goods from the United States to Iraq, sell firearms without a license, make false statements in the purchase of firearms, and defraud the U.S. government following a joint Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Louisville investigation.
Haitham Al-Dulaimi, 30; Haider Lazem, 41; Hasan Wasak, 27; and Abdullah Alsajee, 30, all of Louisville, were arrested pursuant to a now-unsealed indictment. If convicted, Al-Dulaimi, Lazem, Alsajee and Wasak face a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison for violations of export control laws and five years in prison for the conspiracy charge.
According to the indictment, from February 2023 through September 2024, Al-Dulaimi, Lazem, Wasak and Alsajee conspired to export firearms, including Glocks, Rugers, Sig Sauers and Smith & Wessons, from the United States to Iraq without obtaining the required export licenses. Wasak, Alsajee and Lazem obtained firearms from federal firearm licensees at gun shows in the Louisville area. They delivered the firearms to Al-Dulaimi, who arranged them for export to Iraq. Thirty-eight firearms were detained by law enforcement from a shipment sent by Al-Dulaimi intended for Iraq.
Lazem, Alsajee and Wasak also each face a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison for false statements during the purchase of a firearm. Al-Dulaimi faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison for smuggling and five years in prison for dealing in firearms without a license. The indictment also notifies defendants that the United States intends to forfeit firearms alleged to be traceable to proceeds of the offense. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors.
HSI Louisville, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the FBI are investigating the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Kentucky Alicia P. Gomez, and trial attorney Leslie C. Esbrook of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section are prosecuting the case.
An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.