Oregon man who smuggled gun parts to PH asks for leniency

SAN FRANCISCO – A man in Oregon City, who admitted helping a contact in the Philippines evade export controls by shipping firearms accessories to him from Oregon at least 30 times, asked a federal judge Oct. 24 to release him early from his three-year probationary sentence.

Haoqian “Jim” Liu admitted that packages of firearms accessories – including gun sights and rifle scopes – ordered by Warren Sumaylo, a co-defendant in the Philippines, were sent to his home in Oregon City.

He then repackaged the goods and shipped them by U.S. mail to Sumaylo in the Philippines. Liu admitted that he removed export restrictions labels from the items before sending them to Sumaylo, according to a report by The Oregonian.

Some items shipped required a State Department license to export.

Liu’s family manufactures optical equipment, which Liu imports into the U.S. and sells over the Internet. His criminal activity occurred between 2010 and 2012, earning him about $50 per shipment sent to Sumalyo, or about $1,500, according to court documents.

Liu was sentenced to three years probation in June 2015, after pleading guilty to failure to file export information, cooperating with the federal investigation and testifying against Sumaylo, who is considered a fugitive.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Charles F. Gorder Jr. objected Monday to any reduction of the penalty because Liu hasn’t even served half of his probationary sentence and that three months after his sentence Liu had a package of firearms accessories addressed to his Oregon home intercepted by federal customs officials in Los Angeles.

On Sept. 22, 2015, a package from China addressed to Liu and labelled as “Auto Joint” valued at $480 was intercepted at the Los Angeles airport, according to Gorder. Examination of the package revealed 300 “quad rail hand guards” for AR-15 rifles, which would require a license to be imported from China.