Two months after his arrest outside a Ferndale storage unit packed with sniper rifles and ammunition, new details have emerged in the federal case against an Iranian-born Canadian citizen suspected of gun smuggling.
Exactly who Oliver King is remains something of a mystery.
Writing the court, King’s own attorney describes him as having had multiple contacts with the CIA, the Department of Defense and other national security agencies prior to his arrest.
According to the prosecution, King’s partner in a McMinnville, Ore., gun shop told investigators he’d claimed to be a member of the Israeli intelligence agency. An Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives agent who’d interviewed King years before said the Canadian said he served in the Israeli army.
Interpol records show him to have been convicted of fraud, assault and weapons charges while living in Denmark, according to previously sealed statements by investigators made public earlier this week. His girlfriend, the government claims, said the 35-year-old had been out of work for a while, was living on credit and found himself heavily in debt to gun manufacturers.
“Since his arrest, agents have looked into his background,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Susan Roe said in court documents filed with the U.S. District Court at Seattle.
“Complicating this investigation is the fact that the defendant was born in Iran, (and) lived for several years in Denmark before moving to Canada.” she continued. “Records, relevant information and necessary witnesses are in these foreign countries.”
Born Hamid Malekpour in the Iranian capitol Tehran, King was arrested May 19 after U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents followed him from the Canadian border to the McMinnville gun shop — an empty office, it later turned out — then back to the Ferndale storage unit, according to charging documents.
In subsequent searches of his car and the storage unit, investigators seized 27 firearms, including a .50 cal. sniper rifle and several semi-automatic assault rifles. Also taken was a large cache of ammunition and several high-end rifle scopes.
Source: Levi Pulkkinen for Seattle PI.
