A Burnaby resident pleaded guilty in federal court in Atlanta, GA to illegally exporting military rifle parts yesterday (May 5).

John Dennis Tan Ong, 37, entered the plea in U.S. District Court.

U.S. Attorney Sally Quillian Yates said officials learned two years ago that someone was purchasing parts for the M-4 rifle. Exporting parts for the M4 is prohibited under American law unless the shipper has a licence issued by the State Department.

"The M4 rifle is issued to our soldiers and is a state-of-the-art weapon," said Yates. "The illegal export of M4 parts allows other countries to not only learn about and benefit from the design of this weapon, but also to potentially use these effective rifles against our soldiers overseas."

Prosecutors say a federal agent began communicating with the man, who thought he was dealing with a supplier and placed an order for parts for up to 10 M4s and asked that the items be shipped to the Philippines.

Even in the U.S., sales of M4s are restricted to military and law enforcement agencies.

Prosecutors say Ong agreed to ship the parts despite lacking an export licence.

No sentencing date has been set yet.