Gun Experts Poke Holes in Spy 's Excuse

Of course he tale of smuggling night-vision goggles so some folks in Russia could go hunting was ridiculous, but let's face it, the public is enamored with the hot Russian spies, and this just gives us an excuse to talk about her some more.

High-tech scopes a young beauty tried to smuggle onto a Moscow-bound plane at Kennedy Airport are designed to help soldiers take out the enemy from a mile away.

Latvian-born lovely Anna Fermanova told federal agents she bought the three night-vision scopes for her husband's hunting pals in Russia.

Gun experts said yesterday her story doesn't make sense.

"These are used specifically for an assassination," said security consultant Bo Dietl, a former NYPD detective. "You're not going to hunt deer with a super scope. That's crazy.

"You could take someone out with one of these scopes in the dead of night from up to a mile-and-a-half-away," he said. "I have friends in Iraq who use these. These are the real deal."

Dan Wasserbly, a weapons expert with Jane's International Defence Review, said the $7,000 Raptor 4X Night Vision Weapons Sight that Fermanova had is so advanced the average U.S. soldier wouldn't use one.

And it's used for automatic assault weapons, not hunting rifles. "It's a piece of serious military hardware," he said.

Fermanova, 24, was arrested July 15, four months after she tried to get past airport security with the scopes concealed in a pair of Ugg boots buried deep in her suitcase, authorities said.

Her lawyer, Scott Palmer, said his client was told they were needed for hunting. "If it was intended for other uses, she was not aware," he said.

The feds trained their sights on Fermanova after a confidential informant told them she was in the market for heavy-duty weapon parts, court documents said. A law-enforcement official said her arrest is part of an ongoing investigation into arms trading.

Palmer said his client will likely plead not guilty to knowingly trying to export controlled weapons when she appears in Brooklyn Federal Court in August. The charge carries 10 years.

Fermanova is under house arrest at her parents' home outside Dallas and would not come to the door yesterday.

Thanks to Hot Air for the link.