Prosecutors in the US have charged three men from Saudi Arabia with illegally purchasing firearms parts worth an estimated $100,000 while in America on student visas and attempting to smuggle them back to their home country.

In a five-count indictment returned last week, Hatim Humeed Alsufyani, 36, and 27-year-old Mosab Alzahrani, both of whom previously resided in San Bernardino, California, were each charged with one count of conspiracy to smuggle goods out of America without obtaining the proper export licences.

Both men were also charged with counts of knowingly exporting weapons parts without a licence.

It is understood the pair are currently back in Saudi Arabia.

In a separate indictment, Mohammed Alabdulwahab, 30, who is also said to have lived in Los Angeles at the time the offences were committed, was charged with 15 counts of smuggling and 15 counts of knowingly exporting firearms parts from the US without first having obtained an export licence from the State Department.

Alabdulwahab is also thought to currently be living back in the kingdom.

Prosecutors allege that Alsufyani and Alzahrani plotted to traffic rifle barrels, rifle triggers and other items related to firearms out of the US to their home country in their checked luggage on flights from Los Angeles.

The pair are said to have falsely identified the firearms parts as “shower curtain rods” or “car parts” when passing through customs checks.

It is also alleged that Alabdulwahab got in touch with US-based firearms parts retailers in 2018 in order to buy parts for the purpose of illegally exporting them to Saudi Arabia.

Alsufyani could face a maximum penalty of 65 years behind bars if convicted of all the charges he faces, while Alzahrani could be handed a 25-year maximum jail term.

Alabdulwahab could face a maximum jail term of 10 years for each smuggling count he has been charged with, and 20 years for each violation of the Arms Export Control Act.

The US and Saudi Arabia do not have a formal extradition treaty, meaning the Kingdom does not send its citizens accused of crimes to America to face justice.

Last month, Oregon Live reported that Democratic Senator Ron Wyden had won approval for a new bill that could force the White House to disclose what it knows about the Saudi Arabian government’s alleged role in removing its citizens from the US to escape prosecution.

If it passes into law, the Saudi Fugitives Declassification Act would compel US authorities to declassify all information relating to how the Saudi government may have helped accused criminals leave the country.

Researchers at the University of Oxford and Fudan University in Shanghai have created a way of synthesising fake rhino horn.

The scientists believe the method has the potential to undermine the illicit market for the genuine article.

It is hoped that the process, which involves making bogus rhino horn from horse hair, will allow for the production of enough fake horn to flood the illegal market, preventing poachers from making a profit.

Detailing the process in a paper published in Scientific Reports, the researchers note that rhino horn is not a horn in the same way that the horn of a cow is, but is in fact a tuft of tightly packed hair that grows from the animal’s nose.

Gluing together hairs from horses, which as a species are closely related to rhinos, the scientists were able to produce fake horns that retain the feel and general properties of the real thing.

The researchers said the resultant product, which is cheap and relatively straightforward to make, can be used to confuse buyers of rhino horn.

They hope the process can be refined and then used to confuse the participants in the illicit rhino horn trade, depress prices and support the conservation of rhinos, some species of which are critically endangered.

Many people in some Asian countries believe wrongly that rhino horn has medicinal and aphrodisiac qualities.

In order to perpetuate such myths, poachers and wildlife smugglers often cut rhino horn with erectile dysfunction drugs such as Viagra to make buyers believe their products are having the desired effect.

Ruixin Mi from the Department of Macromolecular Science at Fudan University, one of the report’s co-authors, said in a statement: “Our study demonstrates that materials science can contribute to fundamental issues in biology and conservation.

“The fundamental structure of the rhino horn is a highly evolved and tough fibre reinforced bio-composite and we hope that our attempts to copy it will not only undermine the trade in rhino horn but might also find uses as a novel bio-inspired material.”

At the beginning of last month, a US court handed an Irish national a 14-month jail term for conspiracy to traffic a cup fashioned from the horn of an endangered species of rhino.

Richard Sheridan, 50, was extradited to the US from England to appear at a court in Miami, where he pleaded guilty to smuggling the cup.

Sex traffickers and buyers of sexual services looking to take advantage of the upcoming Super Bowl in Miami are being targeted by a new outdoor advertising campaign in the city.

Coordinated by the Miami Super Bowl Host Committee, the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office, the Women’s Fund Miami-Dade and several other partner organisations, the campaign aims to raise awareness of sex trafficking involving the exploitation of children as young as 12, which tends to increase when events such as the Super Bowl are held.

Posters unveiled as part of the initiative, which will go on display across the city in the lead-up to the Super Bowl in February, seek to encourage members of the public to report any concerns they have that individuals may have fallen victim to sex traffickers.

Concerned citizens are provided with a rapid response local text or call trafficking hotline number, which has been introduced to complement other trafficking services while the Super Bowl is taking place.

Victims or community members who report trafficking crimes to the hotline will be connected directly with local Miami rapid response resources.

The campaign will be promoted by posters that will appear on billboards, at train stations and on buses, and will be supported on social media before being expanded to include additional messaging, languages, media and locations.

In a statement, the US Attorneys’ office for the Southern District of Florida said the campaign will focus on three messages:

“See It. Snap It. Send It”, which encourages members of the public to use the Miami local sex trafficking hotline.

“Not What You Think”, which features a middle-aged woman with a preteen girl, conveying the message that sex trafficking can be facilitated by both women and men.

“Buy Sex. Be Exposed”, which portrays a man having been arrested for buying sex, reminding people that buying sex is illegal in Florida.

Commenting on the campaign, Miami Super Bowl Host Committee Chairman Rodney Barreto said: “Earlier this year we launched our Stop Sex Trafficking Campaign – an unprecedented effort involving local, state and federal agencies, as well as a significant number of other partners who have come together to combat sex trafficking with new tools and zero tolerance.

“Since, we’ve worked together and tirelessly to ensure we do our very best to address this critical issue and create a model that will make a difference in our community, future Super Bowl host cities and beyond.”