Crime & Safety

Plymouth Man with Ukraine Ties Charged in Federal Court

A 40-year-old Plymouth resident, who emigrated to the United States 16 years ago, is charged with smuggling ammunition back to his native Ukraine.

A 40-year-old Plymouth man who came to the area from the Ukraine is facing charges in Federal Court after agents determined he was smuggling thousands of dollars worth of ammunition to the Ukraine. 

Paul Kalash, 40, is facing charges of smuggling, and could face up to 10 years in prison. However, the native Ukrainian, who came to the United States in 1997, was charged, and not indicted, which usually constitutes a precursor to a plea bargain, a report in the Minneapolis Star Tribune stated

According to court documents, Kalash purchased more than $15,000 worth of ammunition from an online firearms dealer. He then tried to ship them to contacts in the Ukraine. 

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Kalash told investigators the ammunition was for a friend that was a competitive shooter, the documents state. However, the ammunition seized in the investigation was not consistent with that statement, and instead was more suited for assault-style rifles, including the AR-15 and the AK-47, which is a popular rifle in the Eastern European region. 

Investigators said Kalash ignored instructions on a receipt he received for his online order that explicitly stated the ammunition could not be shipped overseas, the Star Tribune report stated. 

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