Kansas Man Charged with Exporting Firearms to Overseas Purchasers

KANSAS CITY, KAN. – A Kansas man is charged in an eighteen-count indictment unsealed today with removing, altering or obliterating manufacturer’s serial numbers, causing other individuals to make straw purchases of firearms and exporting firearms overseas, U.S. Attorney Barry Grissom said.

Michael Andrew Ryan, also known as “Brad Jones” and “GunRunner,” 35, of Manhattan, Kan., was charged in an indictment filed on June 3, 2015, in Topeka with knowingly making false statements to licensed firearms dealers; possession of firearms from which the manufacturer’s serial numbers had been removed, altered and obliterated; and exporting and/or attempting to export these firearms in different packages from the United States to individuals located in other countries.

According to allegations in the indictment, Ryan knowingly possessed a total of nine guns, including a Glock model 27 .40 caliber pistol, from which the manufacturer's serial numbers had been removed, altered and obliterated, 318 rounds of assorted ammunition and eight magazines, which had been shipped and transported in interstate and foreign commerce in violation of federal law.

According to allegations in the indictment, Ryan had also exported and attempted to export these firearms in different packages from the United States to individuals located in Cork, Ireland; Mallow, Ireland; Pinner, England; Edinburgh, Scotland; and Victoria, Australia.

The charges contained in the indictment are merely accusations, and a defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

The case is being investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) Kansas City Field Division; Department of Homeland Security’s Customs and Border Protection and Homeland Security Investigations Topeka Divisions; the Manhattan Police Department and Riley County, Kan., Police Department; with assistance from the ATF Washington D.C. Division.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Greg Hough of the District of Kansas, Senior Counsels Marie-Flore Johnson and Gavin Corn of the Criminal Division’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section