WASHINGTON -- A West German citizen was indicted Tuesday for allegedly conspiring to export a microwave surveillance receiver system, a device intended for military use, without a required license and State Department approval.
A federal grand jury in Baltimore, Md., returned a two-count indictment against Volker Nast, of Hamburg, West Germany, currently a fugitive on a similar charge in San Francisco.
The grand jury charged Nast allegedly conspired with Rolf Peter Herms, also a West German native, to purchase the microwave surveillance receiver system from a Baltimore company and smuggle it out of the United States without the necessary approval.
The indictment did not identify the country of destination. It was learned, however, that the material allegedly was to be exported to Hungary.
The receiver system, known as the model MSR-903, is sold by the Micro-Tel Corp. of Baltimore. It is designed to receive, display, and analyze microwave signals primarily for military and other surveillance uses.
The Justice Department said the material is designated a defense article and cannot be exported without a license or written approval from the State Department. A person applying for such a license is required to reveal its final destination.
Herms was named as a co-conspirator but not a defendant by the grand jury. In February, he pleaded guilty to a charge of attempting to violate the Arms Export Control Act and was placed on probation for five years.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert McDonald in Baltimore said Herms was arrested Jan. 20 at Kennedy Airport in New York as he was about to board a plane carrying the device.
The indictment said Nast and Herms allegedly were assisted in their plan by Werner Richard Peter Hilpert, a U.S. citizen from Princeton, N.J.
Hilbert pleaded guilty on May 1 in U.S. District Court in Baltimore to charges of aiding and abetting an attempt to export the item. He has agreed to cooperate with the government, McDonald said.
The indictment charged that Herms wrote to Hilpert last June asking him to place an order for the device with the Baltimore firm. In August, Herms wired $12,000 to Hilpert to make a down payment on the material.
The indictment said officials at Micro-Tel Corp. told Hilbert a special license was needed to export the equipment. Hilbert allegedly told the company that the required license was being obtained.
The indictment charged that Nast provided part of the funds to purchase the MSR-903.
Nast was previously charged by a federal grand jury in San Francisco with conspiring to export certain technical equipment without complying with American law. He is a fugitive on those charges.
