Two international arms traffickers, MEMET GEZER, a/k/a “Muhammad Altrky,” a/k/a “Wissam Abdel Rahman Younes,” a/k/a “Mohamed Subhe Al Gazar,” 49, of Turkey, and SABER KARIMCH, a/k/a “Abu Farouk,” 50, of Syria, were extradited from Montenegro to New York today, facing federal charges for conspiring to supply a Mexican drug trafficking organization with military-grade weapons to protect multi-ton cocaine shipments bound for the United States.
According to a Southern District of New York indictment unsealed in October 2016, GEZER and KARIMCH held multiple recorded meetings and phone calls with individuals they believed were cartel operatives but who were, in fact, undercover DEA confidential sources. During these exchanges, the pair agreed to provide machine guns, grenades, and rocket-propelled grenades—explicitly intended to guard cocaine shipments moving through Mexico into U.S. markets.
In early 2016, GEZER escorted a confidential source to a heavily guarded compound in a foreign country, where he displayed stockpiles of weapons, including sniper rifles and RPGs. He later sent video footage of the arsenal to confirm readiness for the deal. GEZER also offered to sell the source approximately $2 million in U.S. currency at a fraction of face value—knowing the funds would launder drug proceeds for the DTO.
GEZER and KARIMCH were arrested by Montenegrin authorities on April 14, 2016, following a DEA-led international sting operation. They were flown to New York today and are scheduled for arraignment before U.S. Magistrate Judge Kevin Nathaniel Fox. The case is assigned to Chief U.S. District Judge Colleen McMahon.
They face one count of conspiracy to import cocaine into the United States, carrying a maximum sentence of life in prison and a mandatory minimum of 10 years; two counts of attempting to import cocaine, each with the same penalties; and one count of conspiracy to aid and abet the possession of firearms in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.
“Highlighting the global nature and impact of the drug trade, two men from the Middle East working with what they believed to be members of a Mexican drug trafficking organization, allegedly agreed to provide military-grade weapons,” said U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara. “Thanks to the DEA’s relentless efforts, these alleged international arms traffickers are now on American soil facing criminal charges.”
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Key Facts
- State: New York
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Weapons|Drug Trafficking|Organized Crime
- Source: Official Source ↗
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