An Indian in the US, Mohit Chauhan, has been sentenced to 30 months in jail for illegally selling silencers used to reduce the sound of gunshots, and planning to smuggle more, an American attorney said today.
A resident of Pitampura in New Delhi, Chauhan was also sentenced to three years of supervised release, the Department of Justice said. The sentencing came after he pleaded guilty before US District Judge Elizabeth Foote in Louisiana to one count of dealing in firearms without a license.
According to the guilty plea dated April 20, 2017, Chauhan was contacted by someone wishing to buy silencers.
Chauhan discussed the manufacturing of silencers with the potential client by email and phone calls. He also discussed importing more silencers and parts by labelling them as ‘auto parts’ to evade US Customs.
After they set up a meeting, he arrived in Shreveport on December 1 last year to meet the buyer and brought the silencer parts with him.
He travelled to a restaurant in Louisiana's Bossier City to discuss the sale details with the buyer. Chauhan did not have a license to deal or conduct a business involving silencers and parts as required by law, and the silencers and parts had travelled in foreign commerce, according to a statement by the department.