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Man accused of illegally exporting sensitive material to Syria

A Syrian native who also held British citizenship was arraigned Friday in U.S. District Court in Scranton on charges of conspiring with a Pennsylvania man to illegally export to Syria laboratory equipment that could be used to create chemical weapons.

A Syrian native who also held British citizenship was arraigned Friday in U.S. District Court in Scranton on charges of conspiring with a Pennsylvania man to illegally export to Syria laboratory equipment that could be used to create chemical weapons.

Ahmad Feras Diri, 42, pleaded not guilty Friday to a host of charges. Diri recently lost an extradition fight in London, and afterward surrendered to agents from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Homeland Security Investigations and the U.S. Commerce Department's Office of Export Enforcement.

In November 2012, a grand jury indicted Diri and his brother, Moawea Deri, a Syrian resident considered a fugitive, and Harold Rinko, 73, of Hallstead, Pa., on charges of criminal conspiracy, wire fraud, illegal export of goods, money laundering, and false statements.

According to the indictment, beginning in 2003 the brothers used their firm, d-Deri Contracting & Trading, as a front for buying scientific equipment and other goods, and importing them into Syria.

In September 2014, Rinko pleaded guilty to conspiring to export items from the United States through third-party countries to customers in Syria without the required Commerce Department licenses. He has not been sentenced.

The items included a portable gas scanner used for detection of chemical warfare agents, a handheld instrument for field detection and classification of chemical warfare agents, and toxic industrial chemicals, flow meters for measuring gas streams, and a rubber mask for civil defense against chemicals and gases.

"Ahmad Feras Diri conspired with his brother and others to evade U.S. export laws and illegally send chemical laboratory equipment to Syria," Assistant Attorney General John P. Carlin said in a statement. "These violations of U.S. export law threaten our national security, and we will continue to hold accountable those who seek to circumvent restrictions. I want to thank the agents, analysts, prosecutors, and our U.K. law enforcement counterparts who are responsible for the arrest and charges in this case."

Unsealed in April 2014, the indictment stems from an investigation led by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Homeland Security Investigations.

dmastrull@phillynews.com

215-854-2466@dmastrull