From the AP and FOXNews

U.S. authorities charged 18 people with weapons trafficking, including for an alleged scheme to smuggle grenade launchers, shoulder-fired missiles and other Russian military weapons into the country.

The arrests resulted from a yearlong investigation that used a confidential informant posing as an arms trafficker selling weapons to terrorists, according to prosecutors, the FBI and police.

The informant contacted the FBI after he was approached by a man who said he had access to weapons from the former Soviet Union and believed the informant, an explosives expert, could find a willing buyer, according to a law enforcement source.

Over the following year, the informant purchased eight assault weapons in locations around the country. Using a digital camera provided by the informant, members of the ring, which included Armenians and South Africans, provided pictures of the weapons they said they had available for sale, the official said.

The pictures, apparently taken somewhere in Armenia, show anti-tank missiles, a Russian missile launcher and a recoilless anti-tank rifle, among other weapons, the official said.

Arrests have been made in New York, Miami and Los Angeles, the source said.

U.S. Attorney David N. Kelley noted in a press conference this morning that there was some additional discussion, on the part of the smugglers, about their having access to uranium, but that the investigation did not bear out that particular claim.

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