Pakistani Smuggler Gets 40-Year Jail Term for Missile Parts Shipment

LONDON: A Pakistani weapons smuggler, Muhammad Pahlawan, has been sentenced to 40 years in a US federal prison after being found guilty on five counts of shipping ballistic missile components from Iran to Houthi rebels in Yemen using a fishing vessel.

Pahlawan was captured during a US military raid in the Arabian Sea in January 2024, an operation in which two US Navy SEALs tragically drowned, according to American authorities. His crew, reportedly ordinary fishermen, testified in court that they had been deceived into joining the voyage and were unaware of the smuggling plan.

At the time of the interception, Houthi militants were carrying out missile and drone strikes on Israel, claiming the attacks were in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza.

US prosecutors said the seized components represented “some of the most advanced weapon systems Iran supplies to terrorist groups,” describing the case as a significant blow to illegal arms trafficking networks operating across the Middle East.

Pahlawan’s crew, who were working as fishermen, according to the US case, testified they had been duped into taking part and were not aware of the real plot. At that time, Houthis had launched missile and drone attacks on Israel, claiming they were acting in support of Gazans.

The components found on Pahlawan’s boat were “some of the most sophisticated weapon systems that Iran proliferates to other terrorist groups”, US federal prosecutors said after his trial.

The 49-year-old was sentenced after being convicted on five counts, including terrorism offences and transporting weapons of mass destruction. He has been convicted on five counts, making a total of 480 months or 40 years.

The eight crew members who testified in court said they had no idea what was inside the large packages on board the boat, named the Yunus.

One crew member said that when he questioned Pahlawan about it, he was told to mind his own business.

Pahlawan referred to himself as a “walking dead person” in text message exchanges with his wife in Pakistan, sent in the days before the January 2024 voyage, which would get him arrested.

“Just pray that [we] come back safely,” said the message, used as evidence in court.

“Why do you talk like this, ‘may or may not come back’,” she asked him.

Pahlawan told her: “Such is the nature of the job, my dear, such is the nature of the job.”

His final words to her before sailing were: “Keep me in your prayers. May God take me there safely and bring me back safely, alright. Pray.”

The prosecution told the court that Pahlawan was paid 1,400 million rials (£25,200; $33,274), “part of a larger operation” funded and co-ordinated by two Iranian brothers, Yunus and Shahab Mir’kazei.

The US alleges the Mir’kazei brothers are affiliated with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

Pahlawan made two successful smuggling voyages before he was caught – one in October 2023, and a second two months later.

The dozen men he recruited to join him were all from Pakistan and had travelled across the border into Iran looking for work.

Before setting off on the December trip, the US court heard, the crew were tasked with loading large packages onto the boat in Chabahar on Iran’s south coast.

Then, after five or six days at sea, when they were close to the coast of Somalia, the crew described another boat pulling up next to them at night and them having to hand over the cargo.

Crew member Mehandi Hassan told the court there were about five men on the other boat, who spoke in a language he didn’t recognise.

Their next voyage, the following month, was expected to follow the same route. As before, it began in the small port of Konarak before sailing to Chabahar, where the crew were made to load heavy boxes on board.

The packages, the US Navy would later discover, contained Iranian-made ballistic missile parts, anti-ship cruise missile components and a warhead.

US prosecutors revealed that Muhammad Pahlawan collaborated with two brothers to prepare the fishing vessel used for smuggling ballistic missile components. He reportedly received specific coordinates for ship-to-ship transfers and was paid multiple times for his involvement in the operation.

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According to the prosecution, the seized cargo contained “some of the most advanced weapon systems Iran supplies to terrorist organizations.”

On June 5, 2025, a federal jury found Pahlawan guilty on multiple charges, including conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists, aiding the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ weapons of mass destruction program, and transporting explosive devices to Yemen’s Houthi rebels, fully aware they would be used to inflict harm. He was also convicted of intimidating his crew.

“Pahlawan was not just a veteran smuggler,” prosecutors stated. “He clearly understood the nature of his cargo and its intended purpose.”

During sentencing, Pahlawan’s defense attorney pleaded for leniency, highlighting the severe emotional and financial toll on his wife and child, who have lived in isolation and hardship since his arrest. The lawyer noted that in all their phone calls, Pahlawan expressed only concern for his family’s welfare, never for himself.

The District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia ruled that the 40-year sentence was justified, citing the gravity of the crimes and the defendant’s record, describing the punishment as “proportionate to the seriousness of the offences committed.”