TPMMuckraker

Beemers, Fronts and Gators: The Life Of Miami’s Young Gun Runners

Dejan Djuric and Efraim Diveroli

When Efraim Diveroli wanted to show off some of his ammunition supply to a potential business partner, he rolled up in a silver Audi convertible with his friend and business associate: Dejan Djuric, the owner of Advanced Munitions.

Diveroli, as we told you earlier, was arrested on Friday and charged with possession of firearms as a convicted felon and with possession of firearms while under indictment for a felony offense. But all signs indicate that there’s a bigger case on the horizon.

The owner of Advanced Munitions, which an ATF agent told the court he believes is a “front company” for Diveroli to do business, is only listed by the initials “D.D.” in the affidavit. But TPMMuckraker’s search of Florida business records indicate the owner is Dejan Djuric, and a separate record indicates he’s about 29.

Advanced Munitions was only established on July 27, according to the Florida Department of State’s Division of Corporations. Djuric is listed at the president, vice president and secretary.

Diveroli told an undercover ATF officer supposedly interested in purchasing weapons and ammunition in a phone call in early August that Djuric’s business, Advanced Munitions, bought Diveroli’s, AmmoWorks, a week earlier. Diveroli said it wasn’t beneficial to Advanced Munitions to have his name associated with it, so he would remain on board as a consultant and would get an exclusive consulting contract.

Djuric and Diveroli headed up the Florida Turnpike on Aug. 12 to meet up with associates “Jake” and “Aaron Monahan” and an undercover ATF officer in Brevard County. At around 2:20 p.m., the duo arrived in Jake’s 2005 BMW convertible. Jake’s initials are J.F.S., and he was born in 1986, while Aaron is an employee of Pinnacle Minerals Corporation, which is another Diveroli business in which Djuric is a partner.

Djuric and Diveroli arrived 11 minutes later, and made contact with the BMW, then met up with the undercover ATF officer and a cooperating source to discuss the potential weapons sale.

The undercover agent had already made Diveroli believe that a reputable firearms company, represented by the cooperating source, was interested in stamping the imported magazine drums with their logo for rebranding purposes.

They had discussed a scheme to import magazine drums from a South Korean factory that Diveroli had previously identified as “KCI.” Diveroli personally entered into an exclusive rights contract with KCI which gave him the ability to purchase and import a minimum of 10,000 firearm drum magazines per month for a year.

After discussing the South Korean scheme, Diveroli told Aaron to get a box of assorted ammunition out of the trunk of his car and give it the to the undercover ATF agent.

A few days later, Diveroli and the undercover ATF agent spoke on the phone. Diveroli relayed that he had beenk in the Everglades hunting alligator, white tail deer, and hogs using .50 caliber black power rifle. They had a couple decent shots at an alligator, Diveroli said, but their vehicle got stuck in the mud, and a tow truck had to assist them.

On Aug. 20, Diveroli, Djuric, “Jake” and “Aaron” once again drove to meet with the undercover ATF agent. Diveroli said he did not bring any firearms, but the undercover agent offered up their supply for inspection. Diveroli surveyed the weapons and picked up first a semi-automatic 9mm Glock, then a semi-automatic rifle. He wanted to shoot, but he needed some ammo.

So Diveroli, Djuric, “Jake” and “Aaron” went to a nearby Wal-Mart, where they bought several hundred rounds of ammunition. When they returned to the meet-up area, Diveroli was arrested.

It is not known when, or if, the other suspects will be charged. ATF headquarters referred a phone call to the U.S. Attorney’s office for the Middle District of Florida, which did not return a phone call seeking comment. The lawyer listed in the criminal docket, Cynthia Hawkins, also did not return phone calls.

(Editor’s note: this article has been corrected).

Dejan Djuric, Efraim Diveroli
Ryan J. Reilly

Ryan J. Reilly is a D.C.-based reporter for TPM. Prior to joining TPM, he worked for a news website covering the Justice Department and was a researcher for Bloomberg News. His email address is ryan(at)talkingpointsmemo.com.

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