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MIAMI MAN SENTENCED FOR ILLEGAL AUTOMOBILE IMPORTATION
Release Date: 02/28/2002
Contact Information:
FOR RELEASE: THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2002
MIAMI MAN SENTENCED FOR ILLEGAL AUTOMOBILE IMPORTATION
Luke C. Hester 202-564-7818 / hester.luke@epa.gov
Luke C. Hester 202-564-7818 / hester.luke@epa.gov
Miami-area resident Alp Eke was sentenced following his conviction on charges of conspiring to illegally import approximately 45 foreign vehicles that did not meet Clean Air Act (CAA) and Department of Transportation (DOT) standards. Eke will serve one year of probation and will join other defendants in the case in paying $90,000 in restitution to equip six of the imported vehicles to meet CAA and DOT standards. Federal law allows non-standard vehicles to be brought into the United States for up to one year if they are used only for personal use by visiting foreign nationals. The vehicles must then be shipped out of the country when the one-year grace period has expired. The defendant claimed that the imported vehicles were for temporary personal use, but then conspired with others and obtained American titles for the vehicles, which were subsequently sold to buyers in the United States. Selling vehicles that do not meet CAA standards makes it difficult for localities to control air pollution, which causes a variety of respiratory diseases. The case was investigated by EPA’s Criminal Investigation Division, the U.S. Customs Service, the U.S. Department of Transportation Inspector General’s Office and the Miami-Dade Police Department environmental investigation unit. It was prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Miami.
R-035 # # #
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