Scoping Anna Fermanova's Case

While Anna Fermanova's lawyers claim that the only reason that people are interested in her case is because she's attractive (not that there's anything wrong with that) and the sympathy she's garnered from the Russian community in Texas, the fact is that she was caught smuggling three night vision scopes out of the United States without proper paperwork/permits, and that experts believe that the only use for those particular models is to aid snipers in hitting targets 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.

In other words, her claims don't pass the smell test, which is why she's currently under house arrest after her passport was taken to prevent her leaving the country. She's likely to enter a not guilty plea in the case but no court date has been sent.