Los Angeles Psychiatrist Kamal Bijanpour Indicted for Illegally Importing Gun Parts

February 13, 2020

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) — A Southland psychiatrist has been accused of illegally importing parts that could be used to make guns more dangerous.

Investigators said they found firearms, illegal weapons parts and methamphetamine at the home of Kamal Bijanpour — who remained in good standing with the medical board as of Monday night.

“These are very serious charges,” Matthew Chan, special assistant to the U.S. Attorney, said.

Bijanpour is a practicing psychiatrist with a private practice in Long Beach who also practices at several Southland hospitals. Federal authorities said he ordered illegal weapons parts from China and had them delivered to two of his residences — with most arriving at his home in the Mid-Wilshire area.

Requests for comment from Bijanpour were not immediately returned.

Investigators said they intercepted some of the packages when they entered the country.

Chan, who is prosecuting the case against Bijanpour, said charges include possessing unregistered firearm suppressors, more commonly known as silencers. Investigators said they found 12 unregistered silencers without serial numbers and 18 firearms, though those were properly registered to Bijanpour.

“The firearms themselves are not the subject of this federal indictment or the indictment itself,” Chan said. “What it is, essentially, is that he has these silencers, he hasn’t registered them and he doesn’t have any serial numbers on them which we can use to track them.”

When interviewed by investigators, the criminal complaint stated that “Bijanpour denied knowing that purchasing and owning an unregistered suppressor was illegal, indicating that if he was able to purchase it online, it ‘must be legal.'”

“He did say that he intended to use them as muzzle breaks,” Chan said.

Bijanpour was arrested, but had since been released on bond, continuing to practice psychiatry as he awaits trial, though prosecutors now say they want him back in custody.

“There’s been allegations now that he has violated the terms of his pretrial release,” Chan said. “Now the substance of those allegations, I cannot go into.”

Bijanpour was in court Tuesday morning for a bail revocation hearing. The judge denied the prosecutor’s request and Bijanpour was not detained.

Source: “Southland Doctor Accused Of Illegally Importing Gun Parts,” CBS News Los Angeles, February 10, 2020. URL: https://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2020/02/10/southland-doctor-accused-of-illegally-importing-gun-parts/