VZCZCXRO4146
PP RUEHGA RUEHHA RUEHMT RUEHQU RUEHVC
DE RUEHOT #1275/01 2731626
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 291626Z SEP 08
FM AMEMBASSY OTTAWA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 8557
INFO RUCNCAN/ALL CANADIAN POSTS COLLECTIVE
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHDC
RHMFIUU/HQ BICE INTEL WASHINGTON DC
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RHMCSUU/FBI WASHINGTON DC
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 OTTAWA 001275
SENSITIVE
SIPDIS
STATE FOR PM/DTCC - BLUE LANTERN COORDINATOR
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: CA ETTC KOMC
SUBJECT: BLUE LANTERN LEVEL 3: POST-SHIPMENT END-USE CHECK
ON LICENSE 050096269
REF: STATE 71696
Sensitive but unclassified. Please protect accordingly.
1. (SBU) Summary: Per reftel, Consulates General Vancouver
and Montreal investigated Astro Global Trading (AGT) and DSP
Electronics, respectively, regarding the disposition of two
cylinder assembly components for the Pilatus aircraft
exported under application 050096269. The owner of AGT --
Salar Soufizadeh -- confirmed that he received the two
cylinder assembly components, but claimed that he later threw
them away. Soufizadeh says he cannot substantiate the
components, final disposition. Congen Montreal was unable
to confirm that DSP Electronics -- identified as the end user
for the aircraft components -- is located at the Montreal
address cited in reftel or whether DSP Electronics received
the components. End summary.
Congen Vancouver Inquiries at AGT
---------------------------------
2. (SBU) Congen Vancouver Vice Consul and Consulate,s
locally engaged fraud prevention investigator visited AGT in
late August. Located at 602 St. Andrews Road, West
Vancouver, AGT appears to be a one-man operation run out of
the den of Salar Soufizadeh's multi-million dollar home in an
affluent neighborhood. Soufizadeh told the Consulate
officials that he had received the cylinder assembly
components, which arrived via UPS in a 10 centimeter square
box. Soufizadeh confirmed that the cylinders were worth over
USD 6,000 each.
3. (SBU) Soufizadeh stated that the intended end user for the
two cylinder assembly components had been Mehid Fahdi, whom
Soufizadeh says he met while living in Dubai. According to
Soufizadeh, Fahdi wanted the cylinders for research purposes
at a university in the province of Quebec. Soufizadeh did
not identify the university. Soufizadeh stated that he
ordered the aircraft orders for Fahdi because Fahdi lacked
enough trader's credit to purchase the aircraft components
directly and used Soufizadeh as a middleman. Soufizadeh
stated that he had placed an initial order for the components
in early 2007, but said the components had not been shipped
from the United States because he could not confirm the
end-user. Soufizadeh said a second order (application
050096269) for the components was received in April 2008.
Soufizaded stated that he eventually threw the two cylinders
into a garbage can because he did not receive an end-user
verification for the cylinders.
4. (SBU) In an possible contradiction of his claim of having
thrown the cylinders into the garbage, Soufizadeh stated that
he could not show any receipts or confirmation that he had
shipped the cylinders to Montreal because his office had been
raided recently by the Canadian Border Service Agency (CBSA),
which allegedly seized all his business documentation.
(Comment: CBSA confirmed to Congen,s ICE assistant attach
that it did raid Soufizadeh,s office, but declined to
provide further details. End comment) Soufizadeh said that
during the raid, the CBSA officials had questioned his
shipments of goods to China. Soufizadeh told Congen Vancouver
officials that he has shipped a number of agricultural
products, such as corn and beans to China, but could not
remember the name of his Shanghai contact. Despite claiming
that the CBSA had seized all his business documents,
Soufizadeh produced receipts and purchase orders for a number
of high-value items processed by AGT, such airplane
Qof high-value items processed by AGT, such airplane
propellers, speed boat engines, and high-speed 1400 PCI
Phototron cameras. He stated that he shipped the USD 100,000
cameras to Hyundai Industries in South Korea in an effort to
allegedly help the company avoid paying customs duties.
Soufizadeh said he locates clients and suppliers on the
Internet.
5. (SBU) Soufizadeh stated that he is an ethnic Kurd and that
he immigrated to Canada in 2007 with his wife and daughter.
Soufizadeh has recently started a residential construction
company, Home Line Projects, which is registered at 1497
Marine Dr., Suite 300, West Vancouver.
Congen Montreal Visit
---------------------
OTTAWA 00001275 002 OF 002
6. (SBU) ConGen Montreal poloff visited the listed address
for DSP Electronics, but was (1) unable to determine whether
DSP Electronics is located at that address and (2) unable to
determine whether anyone had received the Pilatus aircraft
components from AGT. The listed address for DSP Electronics
(1900 Lincoln Avenue, Montreal) is a brick, residential
apartment complex. Nothing about the building suggests that
a warehouse, factory, or formal office space is located
within the building -- and no names appear on the building,s
mailboxes. The property manager repeatedly told poloff that
Canadian privacy laws prevented her from revealing the names
of the building,s tenants. The property manager did,
however, state that if a package had arrived for DSP
Electronics without a specific suite number, the package
would have ended up in her office. The manager said she did
not remember receiving any such package.
Visit Canada,s Economy and Environment Forum at
http://www.intelink.gov/communities/state/can ada
WILKINS