Five Russian nationals and two U.S. residents were charged in a scheme to obtain military-grade technology from American companies and with smuggling sniper rifle ammunition to support Moscow’s war effort in violation of U.S. sanctions, the Justice Department announced Tuesday.

The Russian defendants include a suspected intelligence officer who is accused of shipping and physically smuggling U.S. material, including electronics and tactical ammunition from Estonia to Russia.

Federal prosecutors said that Vadim Konoshchenok, 48, of St. Petersburg, Russia, was stopped at the Estonian border in late October carrying dozens of semi-conductors and “thousands” of American-made bullets used in military sniper rifles.

The group included alleged co-conspirators in New Hampshire and New Jersey accused of fabricating shipping invoices and repackaging items for shipment to Konoshchenok in Estonia and other staging areas around the globe.

Prosecutors said the accused traffickers unlawfully purchased and exported “highly sensitive and heavily regulated electronic components, some of which can be used in the development of nuclear and hypersonic weapons, quantum computing and other military applications.”

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“The Department of Justice and our international partners will not tolerate criminal schemes to bolster the Russian military’s war efforts,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said. “With three of the defendants now in custody, we have disrupted the procurement network allegedly used by the defendants and Russian intelligence services to smuggle sniper rifle ammunition and sensitive electronic components into Russia.”

Attorney General Merrick Garland and Deputy Attorney General Lisa O. Monaco arrive to deliver remarks at the U.S. Justice Department on Friday in Washington, D.C. Garland appointed Jack Smith to be special counsel to oversee the Justice Department’s investigation into former President Donald Trump and his handling of classified documents and actions before the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol.

Attorney General Merrick Garland and Deputy Attorney General Lisa O. Monaco arrive to deliver remarks at the U.S. Justice Department on Friday in Washington, D.C. Garland appointed Jack Smith to be special counsel to oversee the Justice Department’s investigation into former President Donald Trump and his handling of classified documents and actions before the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol. (Yahoo)