UK man pleads guilty to smuggling equipment to Iran after arrest at Pensacola airport

A foreign national pleaded guilty in the United States District Court in Pensacola of attempting to smuggle power generating equipment out of the United States into Iran and violating the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.

Colin Fisher, a citizen of the United Kingdom, was arrested Aug. 7 by federal agents —upon his arrival at the Pensacola International Airport — after having traveled from the United Arab Emirates to consummate an illegal transaction involving the procurement of equipment for an Iranian buyer.

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Lawrence Keefe, U.S. Attorney of the Northern District of Florida, announced Fisher’s guilty plea on Tuesday.

Fisher, 45, admitted in Federal Court in Pensacola that he worked from October 2017 to August 2020 to violate the Iranian embargo by attempting to export a Solar Mars 90 S turbine core engine and parts from the United States for delivery to an end user in Iran, according to Keefe.

The turbine was valued at $500,000 and could be used "to provide needed energy to the oil fields of Iran," Keefe wrote. 

Fisher faces up to 20 years in prison for violating the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.

He faces an additional sentence of up to 10 years in prison for attempted smuggling. Fisher is scheduled to attend a Nov. 10 sentencing hearing.

Fisher’s partner in crime, James Meharg, was previously convicted of conspiring with Fisher to export a large turbine and parts from the United States to an Iranian recipient.

Meharg, who was the CEO and president of Turbine Resources International, LLC at the time he committed his crimes, is currently serving a 40-month sentence in federal prison.

Colin Warren-Hicks can be reached at colinwarrenhicks@pnj.com or 850-435-8680.