Kopp Convicted of Transnational Arms Trafficking

On Tuesday, January 22, a court convicted Daniel Kopp of illegally trading arms with several countries, and sentenced him to four years and nine months in prison.^[1]

Kopp evaded custody for several years, and was accused of buying and selling weapons and ammunition without a license in 1998-2004, said Miroslava Sedlackova, spokeswoman for the regional court in Brno, 200 kilometers (125 miles) southeast of Prague.^[2] It is not clear if Kopp will appeal the verdict, the spokeswoman said.^[3]

Sedlackova could not say exactly which countries were involved in the deals. But local CTK news agency, citing court testimony, said past deals had involved Kyrgyzstan and South Africa, among other countries.^[4] It has also been asserted that Kopp had planned to purchase thousands of weapons worth some US$1.8 million from Ukraine.^[5]

Kopp was first detained in April 2004 and charged with illegal arms trading, after authorities alleged he was planning to illegally export unspecified types of ammunition to Iraq.^[6]

After being released by the court in 2004, Kopp fled the Czech Republic. He was captured again by U.N. peacekeepers on an international warrant in December 2004 in the Liberian capital, Monrovia, but managed again to flee custody.^[7] He was arrested in Brussels in January 2006 and extradited to the Czech Republic later that year.^[8]

The crime of being a felon in possession of a firearm, in this context, makes it illegal for a felon, fugitive, renounced citizen, dishonorably discharged military person, mentally ill person, or alien, to ship or transport in interstate or foreign commerce, or possess in or affecting commerce, any firearm or ammunition; or to receive any firearm or ammunition which has been shipped or transported in interstate or foreign commerce.^[9]

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^[1] AP Staff, Czech illegal arms dealer sentenced to 4 years, Associated Press Newswire, January 22, 2008, January 9, 2008, available at LEXIS, News Library, Wire News Services.
^[2] Id.
^[3] Id.
^[4] Id.
^[5] Id.
^[6] Id.
^[7] Id.
^[8] Id.
^[9] 18 U.S.C. §922(g)(2006).