An ISU graduate student and his brother await trial after being charged with attempting to export sophisticated military equipment to Pakistan, their home country.U.S. Customs Service agents, assisted by the Ames Police Department, arrested 36-year-old Tauquir Khan, graduate student in electrical and computer engineering, early Wednesday and charged him with conspiracy to violate the Arms Export Control Act, said Customs spokesperson Dean Boyd.His brother, Tanzeem Khan, a naturalized U.S. citizen, also was arrested Wednesday in Derby, Kan., on the same charge.Customs agents confiscated two pan-tilt-zoom cameras that are used to survey troop movement in battle, Boyd said.”Basically, these are very sophisticated cameras that are designed for drones, … which are remote-controlled aircraft,” he said. “You can fly it without a pilot, and you can imagine what that would do for surveillance.”Drones, or unmanned aerial vehicles, are U.S. Munitions List items, Boyd said. The United States used drones in Desert Storm, he said, to take long-range photographs or video surveillance. To export these items, one must be registered with the State Department’s Office of Defense Trade Controls and receive an export license, according to the Arms Control Export Act. Military unrestLicensing the export of military equipment is rare, Boyd said, because of U.S. government sanctions against Pakistan. The sanctions were issued after the May 1998 nuclear testing in Pakistan, he said. Adding to the country’s military instability was the 1999 military coup and ongoing tension with India.”It is very difficult for anyone to sell military goods to Pakistan,” Boyd said. “U.S. exports to Pakistan have been halted since they tested five nuclear bombs in 1998.”An incomplete orderAccording to an affidavit written by Freddie Taylor Jr., U.S. Customs Service special agent, the suspect — identified in the report as Tanzeem A. Khan — requested quotes for two cameras from BAI Aerosystems, Inc., a private company out of Easton, Md.The suspect was acting through a business entity called Khan Industrial & Network Engineering Technical Solutions, which placed a purchase order on April 3, 2000, for two cameras and controlling devices totaling $25,100. Delivery was addressed to Advance Engineering Research Organization, located in Hasana Abadal, Pakistan. Based on this order, the affidavit said, BAI began production of the cameras.In late August, BAI filed a license application over the Internet with the Department of State Office of Defense Trade Controls for the export of these cameras and controllers to Pakistan. The rejection letter came about a month later, according to the affidavit, citing sanctions against Pakistan.In late October, BAI informed the suspect that the export license request had been denied. According to BAI representatives, the suspect expanded his order to six items despite the denial, arousing the suspicion of the company personnel. BAI representatives declined comment.Operation RavenBAI executives notified the Defense Security Service, which referred the case to U.S. Customs, Boyd said.”Once it was clear that the defendants wanted to go through with the order even though the license had been denied, we were contacted,” he said. “We stepped in as a rogue, backdoor supplier from [BAI].”The undercover agent told the suspects they would provide the military equipment, but it would be illegal, Boyd said.”They indicated that they wanted to export the cameras to Pakistan, and they still wanted to do it when we advised them it would not be legal,” he said.Between Dec. 12, 2000 and Jan. 22, 2001, Customs officials tape-recorded about 52 conversations between the suspects and U.S. Customs Service Group Supervisor Daniel Supnick, the undercover agent, according to the affidavit. The suspects and the undercover Customs agents made plans via telephone to ship the equipment illegally from the United States to Pakistan by way of Germany, Boyd said. The suspects paid $25,000 for the two cameras and support equipment.After four months of the undercover operation, Customs officials concluded “there is probable cause to believe that Tauquir A. Khan and Tanzeem A. Khan did conspire to export, re-export or cause to export or re-export defense articles for which a license or written approval was required without first obtaining the required license or written approval from the Office of Defense Trade Controls,” according to the affidavit.Local assistanceThe Ames Police Department was notified of the operation and anticipated arrest of Tauquir Khan about two weeks before the arrest was made, said Sgt. Mike Johns. “He was arrested under a federal warrant and transported back to our department, where he was held for approximately four hours,” Johns said. “Since it’s not our case, I would not predict that we’d have much involvement. Anything that we would do would be dictated by the progression of the case.”Tauquir was arrested at his Ames home, 3426 Orion Drive, at 8:45 a.m. About 12:45 p.m., he was taken to Polk County Jail, where he was held without bail. His brother was also held without bail in Kansas City, Kan.ISU ResponseTauquir, who is in the country on a student visa, first enrolled at Iowa State as a graduate student in 1992, said Registrar Kathleen Jones. He was employed at the ISU Center for Nondestructive Evaluation during his time as a student.Khan currently is enrolled at Iowa State, although he is not taking any classes this semester, said John McCarroll, director of university relations.”He has completed all of his work toward a master’s degree,” McCarroll said. “He doesn’t have any official ties to the university now.”ISU officials said they are not aware of any contact between the U.S. Customs Service and the university prior to Khan’s arrest.Dennis Peterson, director of the International Education Services, said the university has had an agreement with Pakistan’s National Universities of Science and Technology, including several military institutions, since 1998. However, no documentation shows Khan’s involvement in the program, he said.”There’s a lot of students here from Pakistan, but I think there’s only a handful here on that agreement,” Peterson said. “I think it’s a great opportunity for students from Pakistan to come to Iowa State. It’s been mutually rewarding.”Provost Rollin Richmond said the arrest is an “isolated incident” and will not reflect negatively on the university.”American students get in trouble just as easily, perhaps more easily,” he said. “The university is not held accountable for every mistake an American student makes that runs him or her against the law.”Richmond also emphasized the advantages of a diverse campus.”It is valuable for us to … interact with people from different cultures,” he said. “We need to be careful and wait until the facts are all in and the individual has had a chance to speak for himself. I have a feeling we’re only hearing part of the story.”