Washington, Sep 10 (IANS): A Pakistani national living in a Washington suburb has pleaded guilty to a scheme to illegally export to Pakistan nuclear-related devices and equipment.

In a plea agreement, Nadeem Akhtar, 46, of Silver Spring, Maryland, admitted that Computer Communication USA owned by him and co-conspirators obtained or tried to obtain the devices and equipment from Oct 2005 to March 2010, the Maryland US attorney's office said in a news release.

Akhtar took direction from the owner of a Karachi trading company who had business relationships with governmental entities in Pakistan, the release said.

Akhtar and co-conspirators used his company to obtain or attempt to obtain items with a value of more than $400,000, including radiation-detection devices, resins for coolant water purification and calibration and switching equipment, prosecutors said.

The items were intended for export to "organizations of concern to the US government as acting contrary to the national security or foreign policy interests of the United States," the release said.

Akhtar violated US regulations for export of items that can be used in nuclear facilities by selling the items while misrepresenting what he was selling and to whom, US Attorney Rod Rosenstein said.