Joseph Bonney, Senior Editor | Sep 24, 2012 3:22PM EDT
An APL executive stuck in Dubai for months awaiting trial on gun-smuggling charges said he has been acquitted on all counts, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported.
Steve Dolan, 57, a Dubai-based vice president at APL, said he faced up to 50 years behind bars after authorities told him they found some 30,000 knock-off pistols in a shipping container last fall. The container, which also held liquid soap, was apparently being transshipped in Dubai while en route from Turkey to Djibouti.
"The media attention, especially after it got to the Dubai media, forced this decision rather quickly," Dolan said in an email to the Post-Dispatch. Dolan, a 28-year veteran of APL, is a native of the St. Louis area.
Dolan said he and three of his coworkers were charged in February with gun smuggling and transporting weapons without a license. Dolan denied any knowledge of the guns but could not leave Dubai after authorities confiscated his passport pending the outcome of the case.
Dolan said his passport would be returned shortly and that he could return to the United States in four to six weeks.
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