Three “inconsistent and evasive” men pulled over for a traffic stop in New York State were found with a cache of 89 firearms they were attempting to smuggle into Canada, authorities said.
Canadian citizen Malik Bromfield, 22, Pakistani citizen Faizan Ali, 25, and Kamal Salman, 22, a citizen of Canada, the United States, and Jordan were charged after a joint operation involving New York State Police (NYSP), the FBI and the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
New York state troopers pulled over the trio’s rented white Ford Explorer shortly after 6 p.m. on May 7 after observing traffic violations on State Route 90. Police asked the three men to get out for questioning.
“During the course of the roadside interview … (the troopers) observed that the defendants were providing inconsistent and evasive accounts in response to NYSP questioning,” according to a sworn complaint by FBI Special Agent Brian Jennings.
A NYSP sniffer dog conducted a sweep of the exterior of the Explorer, and a preliminary search turned up an unusually heavy suitcase containing a large cache of firearms. They also allegedly found approximately $3,000 in United States currency, in $100 bills, in the glovebox.
