Arms dealer gets 30-year term in plot to buy, sell missiles

LOS ANGELES – A black-market arms dealer convicted of trying to buy anti-aircraft missiles and sell them to clients in the Middle East has been sentenced to 30 years in prison.

Rami Asad-Ghanem was found guilty last November of conspiracy. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement says the 53-year-old was sentenced Monday in Los Angeles.

Prosecutors said Ghanem, who’s a naturalized U.S. citizen, conspired to transfer missiles to customers around the world. They said in one case, he arranged to hire mercenaries to operate missiles for a Libyan militant group.

Following a tip from a Los Angeles military supply firm, authorities arranged a sting operation, and Ghanem was arrested in Athens in 2015 after trying to buy sniper rifles and other military equipment.