Associated Press
November 8
ITTLE ROCK - A grand jury Thursday indicted two Uzbekistan nationals arrested in September on immigration charges.
The indictment charges Davlat M. Norqulov with entering the United States on a diplomatic visa obtained fraudulently through the U.S. Embassy in his home country.
It charges Anvarjon B. Kuliev with three counts of transporting illegal aliens - Norqulov and two other Uzbeks - within the United States.
Norqulov was arrested in September and charged with possession of a false passport. He declined to accept a plea offer from U.S. Attorney Michael Johnson on Oct. 22, and David Young ordered Norqulov held while a grand jury met.
Norqulov could face up to 15 years in prison and a fine of $250,000. However, under federal sentencing guidelines, the sentence is often substantially less and may be as little as probation to two years in prison.
Norqulov, Kuliev, Kamolakham Tuychieva, Utkur Hasanov and a fifth person later released were riding in a van Sept. 25 in Parkin in eastern Arkansas when they were stopped by police for speeding.
Police said information relayed to dispatchers revealed that one of the men possibly was on an FBI watch list released shortly after the Sept. 11 terror attacks on the East Coast.
Johnson has said this case is not related to the attacks.
Kuliev owns the van stopped in Parkin. The indictment said the group was traveling from Kansas City, Mo., to South Carolina, where they hoped to get cleaning service jobs.
The five were turned over to the Immigration and Naturalization Service and were questioned by the FBI. Four remain in custody.
The FBI questioned and detained the five to investigate any possible connections to terrorism, an INS agent said during Norqulov's October detention hearing.
The indictment said Norqulov entered the country in July after falsifying documents in Uzbekistan that allowed him to obtain a diplomatic visa.
Norqulov provided a fabricated picture of himself wearing an Uzbekistan military uniform and signed an application stating that he applying to enter the United States to participate in the 23rd World Military Cyclo-Cross Championships July 9-15 in Mayport, Fla., the indictment said.
Norqulov did not serve in the military and no such event took place in Mayport, the indictment said.
According to court documents, Norqulov stated that he paid $400 to an unidentified man he met outside the U.S Consulate in Tashkent to obtain the visa.
At the October detention hearing, Magistrate Young ordered Hasanov and Tuychieva detained as material witnesses against Kuliev. They will face deportation proceedings.