British Man Accused Of Potential Missile Deal With Iranians Behind Bars

Christopher Tappin, a British man accused of attempting to help sell unlicensed missile parts to Iranians, will remain behind bars in the Otero County Detention Center this weekend.

His detention hearing, which took place Friday morning, was originally set to recess until 3:30 p.m. Instead, the judge called the attorneys and told them he had rescheduled the continuation of that hearing for Monday afternoon.

Until then, Tappin will remain in solitary confinement, a decision he made after hearing of conditions at the Otero County Detention Center. Despite it being his decision, he?s slightly upset at this point now that he won?t have the opportunity to make bond until next week at the earliest.

?He has no friends to visit, nobody to talk to, no reading material. That will wear down the strongest young athletic man, much less a 65-year-old man with physical impairments,? said Kent Shaffer, the chief council for Tappin.

Tappin, who appeared before Judge Robert Castaneda at the El Paso Federal Courthouse, waived his arraignment but stayed for more than two hours as the detention hearing continued throughout the morning and into the afternoon.

Special Agent Ron Marcell, a member of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, spent more than an hour answering questions from both assistant U.S. Attorney Gregory McDonald and defense Attorney Kent Schaffer.

During his time on the stand, Marcell painted a picture of a business relationship between Tappin and Robert Gibson where the intention was to purchase missile components and ship them overseas, with an eventual buyer based in Tehran, Iran.

Marcell said the investigation into Tappin began thanks to a company, Mercury Global Enterprises, that was an undercover operation used to look into companies, or individuals, who were red-flagged and could potentially be breaking export laws.

Mercury Global, according to Marcell, originally began discussions with Gibson about a continuous rotation gimbal in 2006. A gimbal is a piece of technology used in a missile.

In April 2006, the same time Gibson was inquiring about the gimbal, he also began asking Mercury Global for Yardney 329A batteries — the same batteries used by the U.S. government to propel Hawk missiles, and appear on a list of munitions that are not allowed to be sold unless a buyer has a license.

While the company could not secure the batteries, they did find an alternative product that met the same specifications being manufactured by Eagle Picher.

Special agents report that a deal began to be negotiated for the Eagle Picher batteries, with a deposit coming from Brooklyn International Freight.

According to Marcell, Brooklyn International Freight, an American company, would later state that they paid the deposit on behalf of Tappin for a debt they owed him on a previous deal. It was the first time Tappin?s name popped up in the investigation.

Eventually an investigation launched on Tappin would paint him as a main figure and financier of the plan to purchase Hawk missile batteries and sell them to Iran.

Marcell testified in court Friday that Tappin stood to gain $150,000 from the battery deal, with additional profits being distributed to Colin Freeman, a man who initially initiated the deal but has not been indicted in this case, Robert Gibson, and a person simply identified as ?Ali.?

Investigators claim that Tappin planned to purchase the batteries for $5,000 apiece and sell them for an amount between $11,000-$14,000, with the rest of the money paying for shipping fees, and profits being split between several people, including Gibson, who was arrested and eventually served 24 months in prison for his part in the violation of export laws.

Marcell said after Tappin was arrested, Tappin who took the lead on the battery and gimbal deals with Mercury Global.

At one point, he alleges that purchase orders were brought to him signed by Gibson despite the fact he was behind bars and detained at that time.

Around that time, Tappin said Ian Pullen began contacting Mercury Global to help finish the deal, it was later determined that Pullen was actually Tappin using a false name.

Marcell said the batteries and gimbal were seized in October, 2006. Notices were sent to Tappin about the gimbal, and a separate notice about the batteries was sent to the third party in Netherlands that was meant to receive the batteries.

Marcell said Tappin then began to contact several parties to create a story to tell U.S. Customs about the shipments, because they were not properly licensed.

Eventually Marcell said he was then contacted by Tappin in his capacity as a special agent for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. At that time, Marcell said Tappin began to tell him that he was merely a shipper and understood he was being investigated but didn?t understand why.

Shaffer, contends that his client committed no wrongdoing, saying that Gibson was the kingpin, and even questioned Marcell what type of deal he was given to reduce his bond, or sentencing.

U.S. Magistrate Castaneda appealed to an objection at that point, and asked Shaffer to move along.

Shaffer spent a good portion of the day discussing shipping terms such as FOB, also known as free on board. He claims that his client, Tappin, had marked down the shipments of batteries, the gimbal, and other items as FOB, meaning that the sender, in this case the undercover government business, was responsible for proper markings and licensing of sending the freight.

At issue is the fact that the items Tappin is accused of trying to export from the United States fall on the federal government?s munitions list and cannot be shipped outside of the country unless the shipper obtains a license. If a license does not exist the person would be violating the Arms Export Control Act.

Marcell fought back, saying that multiple electronic mail, phone conversations, and cover letters would prove that Tappin knew otherwise, describing a situation where Gibson offered more money when the company pointed out that a license would be needed to ship those items.

Shaffer is fighting to allow Tappin to be released into the custody of another lawyer in the case, who lives in Houston. Shaffer said that will allow the lawyer to act as a custodial third party, rather than have Tappin remain behind bars for the discovery face of the eventual trial.

The government has fought the idea of allowing Tappin to be released from jail. Assistant U.S. attorney McDonald has said he is a flight risk due to his wealth, his proximity to the border, and several other reasons.

Defense attorneys point out that he never fled over a two-year extradition battle without being detained once.

Shaffer told reporters he believes the government is trying to detain Tappin because the discovery phase would take up to a year to review more than 60,000 documents that have turned up in the case, causing him to stay in jail for a lengthy time that he says would make him more susceptible to taking a plea agreement.