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Feds allege Russian smuggling ring used NH couple’s Etsy store in war on Ukraine

MERRIMACK, N.H. — A 35-year-old New Hampshire man has been federally charged with using his suburban home as part of a Russian smuggling ring.

Federal prosecutors allege Alexey Brayman’s home has been a clearinghouse for sensitive equipment commonly used to build weapons systems, including items used in Russian’s war on Ukraine.

According to a 16-count federal indictment, Brayman allegedly received an on-going supply of “advanced electronics and sophisticated testing equipment used in quantum computing, hypersonic and nuclear weapons development and other military and space-based military applications.”

Neighbors told Boston 25 News that they often saw packages coming and going from the address at 30 Ellie Drive in Merrimack, New Hampshire.

However, they said they didn’t think much of it because they know Brayman and his wife run an online Etsy craft business.

“It’s Amazon. It’s UPS. It’s all that stuff,” said one neighbor. “It’s not something you expect in Merrimack.”

The alleged plot dates back to 2017.

Federal prosecutors accuse Brayman and six others, including a New Jersey man, of purchasing and shipping millions of dollars worth of military and other restricted technologies to Russia.

The indictment, filed in the Eastern District of New York, charges the seven suspects with conspiracy, money laundering and bank fraud.

It alleges that Brayman, “repeatedly used the New Hampshire Residence as a transshipment point for repackaging sensitive military-grade and export-controlled items”.

That indictment goes on to allege that those items were then forwarded to “intermediate locations in Europe and Asia, from where they were transshipped to Russia.”

Brayman, identified in court documents as an Israeli citizen who was born in Ukraine, turned himself in on Tuesday.

He was later freed from federal custody with a GPS monitoring device ahead of his next scheduled court appearance in February.

The indictment says Brayman is a “lawful permanent resident of the United States.”

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