Texas man sentenced to supervised release for trying to take ammo to Syria

A man who tried to take a stun gun, ammunition and other items on a plane to Syria _ and claimed he was trying to collect a $25 million (Ђ20.81 million) bounty on Osama bin Laden _ was sentenced Friday to time served and a year of supervised release.

Matt Mihsen, 47, of Chandler, Texas, has been free since pleading guilty last month to a federal count of failing to report that he had brought ammunition on board an airplane, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement office in Detroit said. Three other charges were dismissed as part of a plea agreement.

Mihsen, a naturalized U.S. citizen who was born in Syria, was arrested Feb. 15 at Detroit Metropolitan Airport, where he had changed planes on his way from Dallas to Damascus, Syria.

A search of his checked luggage found items including a stun gun, ammunition, pepper spray, a bulletproof vest and three Geiger counters, his indictment said. Agents also found more than $13,000 (Ђ10,820) on him and in his luggage, according to the indictment.

Mihsen, a registered private investigator, pilot and truck driver, told agents he was going to Syria in hopes of claiming the U.S. government's reward for information leading to bin Laden's arrest and conviction, according to a federal criminal complaint. Mihsen also allegedly said he wanted to conduct an independent probe into the illegal sale of uranium by extremists, AP reports.

A.M.