Stolen F-14 Parts Seized in London : Navy Jet Fighter Equipment Linked to Theft Ring Was Destined for Iran

More than $2 million worth of U.S. aircraft equipment, including three sophisticated computers, was seized in London earlier this month when an Iranian national tied to a military parts smuggling ring was arrested by British authorities, a federal official said Thursday.

U.S. Atty. Peter K. Nunez said that Saeid Asefi Inanlou had received three signal data computers valued at $1.3 million along with several other expensive parts used on the F-14 Tomcat fighter.

A Navy spokesman in Washington said the computers translate data from the plane’s radar signal into a usable form. The spokesman said the signal data computers are a key link in the operations of a plane’s radar system. Other items recovered in London included four inertial navigation aids valued at $380,000 and two weapons indicator controls valued at $132,000.

Inanlou was among seven people named in a 61-count indictment released here Thursday.

The indictment alleges that ring members, including two Navy sailors, were involved in a scheme to smuggle the combat weaponry to Iran. The San Diego-based ring was allegedly headed by Franklin P. Agustin, 47, and included Agustin’s wife, Julie, 46; Pedro M. Quito, 60, a retired sailor and Navy civilian employee, and Franklin’s brother, Edgardo, 45, who is being held in New York.

The two sailors arrested in the case are Primitivo B. Cayabyab, a 17-year veteran and aviation storekeeper on the aircraft carrier Kitty Hawk, and Antonio G. Rodriguez, a 16-year veteran and aviation storekeeper on the Belleau Wood, a helicopter assault ship. All of the suspects arrested in the United States are being held without bail.

Florenzio Ragasa, the Agustins’ brother-in-law and a Navy chief petty officer, was named in a federal affidavit but has not been charged. Ragasa serves aboard the Josephus Daniels, a guided missile cruiser based in Norfolk, Va. Ragasa was left behind at the request of the Justice Department when his ship sailed earlier this week.

Inanlou was arrested by British officials on July 12 and charged with attempted evasion of a 1981 exports control order pertaining to military equipment. State Department officials had requested that Inanlou be jailed, pending extradition to this country on U.S. charges, but the Iranian was released on $150,000 bail on July 19.

According to the indictment, federal officials did not start intercepting shipments to Inanlou until December, 1984, almost two years after investigators said they began their investigation, which was in February, 1983. When asked why investigators waited until 1984 to began inspecting the shipments, Nunez said “no comment.”

Assistant U.S. Atty. Phillip Halpern later said that it was reasonable to assume that between February, 1983, and December, 1984, “shipments (to Iran) went through unchecked.” Halpern said that the contents of some shipments discovered after December, 1984, were seized if the parts were available only to U.S. military personnel. He said other parts that were not thought to be critical were deliberately damaged and allowed to be shipped to Inanlou in London. Investigators say Inanlou in turn forwarded them to Iran.

Earlier this week, Halpern said that only eight of 26 known shipments made by the ring to the Iranians were intercepted. Three sophisticated parametric amplifiers for the Phoenix air-to-air missile were found among the eight shipments and seized. The amplifiers are a critical component of the missile’s guiding system.

Although the investigation began in 1983, the indictment alleges that the ring was involved in shipping stolen parts to Iran as long ago as Jan. 3, 1981, when Franklin Agustin sent a $2,000 payment to Rodriguez. The indictment alleges that on April 14, 1981, Inanlou ordered aircraft parts from Agustin. Investigators who worked on the case have told The Times that the ring may have operated even before 1981.

At a press conference last week, Halpern admitted that U.S. officials do not know how many parts actually reached Iran, but he expressed fears that some of this country’s most sophisticated weaponry, which is available only to U.S. pilots, may have been compromised.

Nunez said that some of the stolen parts were traced to two West Coast-based attack aircraft carriers, the Carl Vinson and the Ranger. But although Nunez said the investigation is continuing, he added that no crew members from the two ships are being investigated and “we don’t expect any more arrests” in the case.

However, investigators told The Times that 10 more people may be arrested before the investigation is completed. These sources said that other people known to be involved with the ring include a Navy photographer who was seen by customs agents handing over photos of the F-14 to Franklin Agustin and a Navy civilian employee who had purchased insurance from Agustin.

On Wednesday, Wilson raised the possibility that the transfer of stolen parts to Iran may be a violation of espionage laws. But Nunez said that he views the case simply as an issue of theft and illegal exportation of military equipment.

“Our view of the law is that the facts don’t support an espionage charge,” said Nunez.

All of those named in the indictment are charged with a single count of conspiracy and multiple counts stemming from the theft and sale of the parts. Nunez said that Edgardo Agustin has been ordered removed to San Diego to stand trial. The six people in custody will return to court on Aug. 5 for a trial-setting date.

Franklin Agustin, Julie Agustin and Cayabyab pleaded innocent to the charges at their arraignments in San Diego on Thursday.