Jeweler from Manhattan involved in terrorist stinger missile sale! Hes an American!!!

[anabolicmd]

Ok, this is still unoficial, but I stake my reputation that it is accurate. An actual US citizen got busted by federal agents for trying to sell surface to air rockets to terrorists! These rockets can be used to bring down a passenger plane, from the ground! The other men were British and possibly Indian. Here is the raw report from an unnamed source:

"Yehuda Abraham is one of three men arrested after one tried to sell a surface-to-air missile to FBI informants posing as terrorists who wanted to shoot down a commercial airplane. Abraham is expected to face charges that he illegally transmitted money to finance the scheme. Abraham is a jeweler from Manhattan, according to several news reports."

 

[the nature boy]

is that an arab or jewish name?

 

[anabolicmd]

is that an arab or jewish name?

Im guessing hes an Arab, but my point is the guy is an American citizen and hes anti airplane selling rockets to terrorists right in New York City, a few weeks before 9/11, its bad enogh the foreigners doing that shit, but now Americans are doing terrorists favors for money?!

 

[C. Montgomery Burns]

Arms dealers are arms dealers. They do not give a shit who they sell to.
I believe the missile originated in Russia, was sold once in the UK then made its way over here.

 

[jerkbox]

i'm sure there are many would be terrorists that are american citizens bro

 

[anabolicmd]

Arms dealers are arms dealers. They do not give a shit who they sell to.
I believe the missile originated in Russia, was sold once in the UK then made its way over here.

Bro, read the story, this guy wasnt an arms dealer. The guy is a jeweler and money remitter who works in Manhattan. Hes not an arms dealer, just an opportunistic traitor.

 

[C. Montgomery Burns]

Bro, read the story, these werent arms dealers. The guy is a jeweler who works in Manhattan. Hes not an arms dealer, just an opportunistic traitor.

Feds tell how the weapons sting was played
Wednesday, August 13, 2003 Posted: 9:22 PM EDT (0122 GMT)


(CNN) -- British arms dealer Hemant Lakhani boasted of selling arms to terrorists while trying to make a deal to provide 21 missiles to people who wanted to shoot down American jetliners, federal prosecutors said Wednesday.

However, Lakhani's sale of shoulder-fired surface-to-air missiles was doomed from the start -- his intended customer was working for the FBI and his supplier was working for the Russian intelligence. Both agencies were being aided by British intelligence.

According to court documents, the threads of the plot began just a few months after terrorists crashed jetliners into New York's World Trade Center, the Pentagon in Virginia and a field in Pennsylvania, killing 2,948 people September 11, 2001.

Those documents outline this story:

It was in December of 2001 when a person described as a "cooperating witness" under the control of a U.S. law enforcement officer began talking to Lakhani. Eventually, the two would have more than 150 recorded conversations. Those talks were always in the Urdu or Hindi language.

The witness was referred to in court documents as CW.

In the spring of 2002, Lakhani met CW in a New Jersey hotel and discussed what weapons Lakhani could provide and that CW represented a Somali group who initially wanted one missile for a jihad involving a plane and "hitting people over here."

During their talks, Lakhani said Osama bin Laden "did a good thing" and commented that "the Americans are bastards."

In August of 2002, the fake terrorist frontman would tell Lakhani that his buyer wanted the missile in time for "the anniversary" – a reference to the September 11 attacks.

Lakhani later faxed a brochure on the specifications of an Igla-S portable anti-aircraft missile system to the terrorist frontman and urged him to buy 20 missiles.

A month later, the two met again in New Jersey at a hotel overlooking Newark Liberty International Airport., where they discussed how the launcher and the missiles would be used.

CW made it clear what the missile target would be when he pointed to U.S. jetliners taking off and landing. But when asked who would target the aircraft, CW said the Somalis could conduct the jihad.

Lakhani also verified with the fake purchasing agent that the purpose of the attack would be to cause economic harm to the United States.

Over the next two months, the two men would discuss price as well as payment and shipping methods. Lakhani complained after "that accident" -- a reference to the September 11 attacks – that international arms trafficking become more difficult.

Lakhani lectured CW after he suggested depositing the next partial payment directly into the supplier's account.

"No, you will be caught. Try to save your skin. ... This business is getting so dangerous. No one has the guts to do it ... I won't do anything if it is risky."

Lakhani also bragged about the superior quality of his weaponry over what terrorists had previously used. He instructed CW to buy Time and Newsweek magazines and read about the attempts to shoot down a commercial aircraft in Kenya on November 28, 2002, with a SA-7 model missile.

He said, "Ours is a much higher quality" than the 1960s model.

After several more conversations on payment methods, Lakhani faxed CW an invoice for "spare parts for medical facilities" and "spare parts for laboratory bench" with a price of $60,000.

In response, U.S. law enforcement wired a final payment of $56,500 to an overseas account.

The two men traveled to Moscow in July of 2003 to meet with their Russian suppliers. In actuality, those suppliers were undercover officers with the Russian Federal Security Service.

Those undercover officers displayed what they said was a surface-to-air missile, but it was really just a replica.

A day later in the port area of St. Petersburg, Russia, Lakhani told his Russian suppliers that he wanted to buy an additional 50 missiles and tons of C-4 plastic explosive.

A couple weeks later, CW and Lakhani discussed when the arms dealer would return to New Jersey to meet with the actual buyers of the missiles and discuss a new and larger purchase.

But instead of the buyers, Lakhani met up with federal agents and was arrested Tuesday.

 

[C. Montgomery Burns]

Hmm, arms dealers. They attempted to sell to FBI agents.

So, about that reputation of yours...

 

[jackangel]

Yehuda Abraham sounds Jewish, and not Arab/Muslim (I think it would be Ibrahim if he were a Muslim). Given that he's a jeweler, I think it's much more likely that he's Jewish as opposed to Arabic.

 

[anabolicmd]

Heres an even better report, straight from the good old FBI! Way to go Feds, thats what I call protecting the homeland!!!

http://www.fbi.gov/pressrel/pressrel03/igla081303.htm

For Immediate Release
August 13, 2003 Washington D.C.
FBI National Press Office

NEWARK, N.J. - A British arms dealer appeared in U.S. District Court today, on charges that he tried to complete the sale of a shoulder-fired missile, with the understanding that it was going to be used to shoot down an American commercial airliner, the U.S. Attorney's Office and Justice Department announced today.

Two other defendants were arrested. Both of them helped in a planned money transfer that was part of the transaction. One of those two individuals arrived in the U.S. to allegedly arrange for a $500,000 downpayment from a government cooperating witness for 50 more shoulder-fired missiles.

U.S. Attorney Christopher J. Christie of the District in New Jersey and FBI Director Robert Mueller and Department of Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge in Washington, announced the filing of a criminal complaint charging Hemant Lakhani with attempting to provide material support to terrorists and attempting to sell arms without a license. Lakhani, 68, of London, England, flew from London to John F. Kennedy International Airport on Sunday and was arrested yesterday by Special Agents of the FBI/Newark Joint Terrorism Task Force, as he was meeting with a government cooperating witness to complete the sale of a single shoulder-fired surface-to-air missile.

A criminal complaint against Lakhani filed under seal on Monday in U.S. District Court in Newark alleges that Lakhani went to New Jersey to arrange for the sale of at least another 50 anti-aircraft missiles to the cooperating witness, who was posing as a representative of a Somali terror organization.

Separate criminal complaints were filed against Yehuda Abraham,76, a New York City jeweler and money remitter, and Moinuddeen Ahmed Hameed of Malaysia. Hameed arrived from Malaysia yesterday allegedly as part of the planned sale of another 50 missiles. Hameed was to collect an initial payment of $500,000 from the government cooperating witness, according to the complaint. Both men are charged with conspiring to operate an unlicensed money transmitting business.

Lakhani, a British national born in India, and Hameed, appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Susan D. Wigenton in Newark. At the government's request, Judge Wigenton continued the initial appearance for several days, during which the defendants will remain in federal custody. The third defendant, Abraham, was expected to make an initial appearance in U.S. District Court in Manhattan sometime today.

U.S. Attorney General Ashcroft said the investigation, which began in the months after the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks on America, also involved law enforcement authorities in the Russian Federation, who infiltrated Lakhani's pipeline to a weapons supplier.

"This investigation shows that all agencies of the federal government and our international allies will work together tirelessly to keep innocent people safe," said Ashcroft. "America is vigilant against danger. Justice will be done."

"This was deadly serious business," said Christie. "Without the very effective intervention of the FBI - Newark, the Joint Terrorism Task Force composed of our federal, state and local law enforcement partners and the indispensable help of the Russian FSB, Lakhani might well have paved the way for others do unimaginable damage."

According to the criminal complaint, contact between Lakhani and the cooperating witness began in December 2001, with most of the conversations spoken in Urdu or Hindi. The following month, after the cooperating witness said he wanted to purchase one surface-to-air missile initially and more to follow, Lakhani represented to the cooperating witness that he could export weapons from sources in the former Soviet Union. At a meeting between the two in New Jersey, Lakhani provided a military arms brochure and business cards from individuals with whom he had connections.

The complaint states that during a video- and audio-taped meeting at a hotel overlooking Newark Airport in September 2002, Lakhani and the cooperating witness looked out and gestured at departing commercial aircraft. Lakhani allegedly said he understood the purpose of the sale was to shoot down an aircraft and cause economic harm to the United States - to "make one explosion ... to shake the economy."

Among the more than 150 other audio- or video-taped conversations during the investigation, Lakhani allegedly spoke approvingly of Usama bin Laden, saying bin Laden "straightened them all out" and "did a good thing." And, in a another conversation, Lakhani was recorded saying, "The Americans are bastards."

As stated in the complaint, the discussions continued about importation of the missile, and on Aug. 17, 2002, Lakhani said he understood that the buyer of the missile had wanted it for "the anniversary" - a reference to the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on America. Three days later, Lakhani allegedly faxed the cooperating witness a document listing the price for an "Igla-S portable anti-aircraft missile complex," including a price breakdown between the missile and its launcher. In more recorded conversations during August 2002, Lakhani allegedly said the supplier was concerned that the deal for just one missile was "too risky," and that he had committed to the supplier that there would be a purchase of at least an additional 20 missiles.

The complaint further alleges that on or about July 12, 2003, Lakhani traveled to Moscow to meet with the suppliers and the government's cooperating witness. At a meeting two days later, Lakhani met with the witness and two officers of the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB), posing as the suppliers. The FSB officers showed Lakhani what appeared to be an actual surface-to-air missile, which was actually an unarmed replica. In subsequent meetings, Lakhani allegedly discussed payment arrangements and his desire to arrange a deal for the purchase of an additional 50 surface-to-air missiles.

The complaint alleges that during a July 18, 2003, recorded meeting, Lakhani provided to the FSB officers a document on corporate letterhead, stating that the company had authorized its foreign bank to release the payment of $70,000 to the account specified by the FSB officers.

Representatives of the State Department's Directorate of Defense Trade Control have advised that the surface-to-air missiles at issue in this case - a Russian-manufactured Igla-S portable anti-aircraft missile complex - are "foreign defense articles" subject to their regulatory authority. Lakhani is neither registered with the DTCT nor licensed to engage in the business of importing or transferring any defense articles.

Criminal charges were also filed against Yehuda Abraham, the owner of Ambuy Gem Corp. in New York City, for allegedly helping to arrange the delivery of a $30,000 down payment between the cooperating witness and Lakhani. Abraham, 75, of New York, who also owns a money remittance business, was arrested today and charged with operating an unlicensed money transmitting business.

Maximum penalties for the defendants:
Lakhani: providing material support to terrorists, 15 years in prison and a $250,000 fine; selling arms without a license, 10 years and a $1 million fine. Abraham and Hameed: conspiring to operate an unlicensed money transmitting business, five years and a $250,000 fine.

The case is being prosecuted by U.S. Attorney Christopher J. Christie of New Jersey and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jeffrey Clark and Brian R. Howe. The international investigation that led to today's charges was assisted by law enforcement authorities in Russia, and is the product of New Jersey's Joint Terrorism Task Force, particularly agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Secret Service at the Department of Homeland Security, and the Defense Intelligence Agency.