SECURITY FORCES in Guyana and Trinidad and Tobago were last night engaged in round-the-clock cooperation with United States authorities probing a terrorist bombing plot at JFK International Airport in New York involving four West Indians. The quartet of alleged bomb plotters, said by United States Justice Department officials to have "links with al Qaeda", have been identified as Russell Defreitas, Guyanese-born American citizen, Abdul Kadir, a former parliamentarian in Guyana, Kareem Ibrahim, of Trinidad, and Tobago and Abdul Nur, of Guyana.
Beyond confirming cooperation with United States authorities and the arrests of Kadir and Ibrahim, both Police Commissioners, Henry Greene of Guyana and Trevor Paul of Trinidad and Tobago, said they could not provide details at this time of the alleged criminal offences of those now in custody.
In a brief statement, the Guyana Government said it was in possession of "the shocking news" of the reported involvement of three Guyanese in the bombing plot. As a partner in the global fight against terrorism, it said, Guyana would "cooperate fully"in the investigations under way. Intelligence personnel in the United States were successful in foiling the massive bombing plot with the collaboration of an informant of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) who had been unsuspectingly recruited by Defreitas. The FBI agent was able to produce secretly taped conversations he had with Defreitas, the alleged mastermind of the attack.
Sunday 3 June 2007
Terror cell's 'airport attack plan'.
Federal authorities say they have broken up a suspected Muslim terrorist cell planning a "chilling" attack to destroy John F. Kennedy International Airport. They say the plot was intended to kill thousands of people and trigger an economic catastrophe by blowing up a jet fuel artery that runs through populous residential New York neighbourhoods.
Three men, one of them a former member of Guyana's parliament, were arrested and one was being sought in Trinidad as part of a plot that authorities said they had been tracked for more than a year and was foiled in the planning stages. "The devastation that would be caused had this plot succeeded is just unthinkable," US Attorney Roslynn Mauskopf said at a news conference, calling it "one of the most chilling plots imaginable".
In an indictment charging the four men, one of them is quoted as saying the foiled plot would "cause greater destruction than in the September 11 attacks", destroying the airport, killing several thousand people and destroying parts of New York's borough of Queens, where the line runs underground. One of the suspects, Russell Defreitas, a US citizen from the South American country of Guyana and former JFK air cargo employee, said the airport named for the assassinated president was targeted because it is a symbol that would put "the whole country in mourning". "It's like you can kill the man twice," said Defreitas, 63, who first hatched his plan more than a decade ago when he worked as a cargo handler for a service company, according to the indictment. Authorities said the men were motivated by hatred toward the US, Israel and the West. Despite their efforts, the men never obtained any explosives, authorities said.
Defreitas was charged in federal court in Brooklyn, where he was held pending a bail hearing on Wednesday. Two other men, Abdul Kadir of Guyana and Kareem Ibrahim of Trinidad, were in custody in Trinidad, a Caribbean island. A fourth man, Abdel Nur of Guyana, was still being sought in Trinidad. Trevor Paul, the top police official in Trinidad and Tobago, said Kadir and Ibrahim would likely be extradited to the US after court hearings in Trinidad.
ONE TIME A GUYANESE MAKE INTERNATIONAL HEADLINES...AND IT'S ALL TO DO WITH TRYING TO BLOW UP JFK !?!
Three men, one of them a former member of Guyana's parliament, were arrested and one was being sought in Trinidad as part of a plot that authorities said they had been tracked for more than a year and was foiled in the planning stages. "The devastation that would be caused had this plot succeeded is just unthinkable," US Attorney Roslynn Mauskopf said at a news conference, calling it "one of the most chilling plots imaginable".
In an indictment charging the four men, one of them is quoted as saying the foiled plot would "cause greater destruction than in the September 11 attacks", destroying the airport, killing several thousand people and destroying parts of New York's borough of Queens, where the line runs underground. One of the suspects, Russell Defreitas, a US citizen from the South American country of Guyana and former JFK air cargo employee, said the airport named for the assassinated president was targeted because it is a symbol that would put "the whole country in mourning". "It's like you can kill the man twice," said Defreitas, 63, who first hatched his plan more than a decade ago when he worked as a cargo handler for a service company, according to the indictment. Authorities said the men were motivated by hatred toward the US, Israel and the West. Despite their efforts, the men never obtained any explosives, authorities said.
Defreitas was charged in federal court in Brooklyn, where he was held pending a bail hearing on Wednesday. Two other men, Abdul Kadir of Guyana and Kareem Ibrahim of Trinidad, were in custody in Trinidad, a Caribbean island. A fourth man, Abdel Nur of Guyana, was still being sought in Trinidad. Trevor Paul, the top police official in Trinidad and Tobago, said Kadir and Ibrahim would likely be extradited to the US after court hearings in Trinidad.
ONE TIME A GUYANESE MAKE INTERNATIONAL HEADLINES...AND IT'S ALL TO DO WITH TRYING TO BLOW UP JFK !?!
Three held over JFK airport plot.
Three people were arrested and one other was being sought in connection to a plan to set off explosives at John F Kennedy International Airport in New York, officials said. The plot, which never got past the planning stages, did not involve aeroplanes or passenger terminals, according to the officials. The gang was not thought to have got hold of any explosives.
The arrests were made in connection with a plan to set off explosives in a fuel line that feeds John F Kennedy International Airport and runs through residential areas, officials close to the investigation said. The pipeline takes fuel from a depot in Linden, New Jersey, to the airport. Other lines service LaGuardia Airport and Newark Liberty International Airport.
The suspects in New York are believed to include a Guyanese man who used to work at the airport and was arrested in New York City. Two other suspects were apprehended in Trinidad. Investigators were seeking a fourth suspect in Trinidad. The plotters are believed to have conducted surveillance on giant jet fuel tanks at JFK and the pipeline. They had taken surveillance video of the targets back to Trinidad to review, an official said.
The arrests mark the latest in a series of alleged homegrown terrorism plots targeting high-profile American landmarks.
A year ago, seven men were arrested in what officials called the early stages of a plot to blow up the Sears Tower in Chicago and destroy FBI offices and other buildings. A month later, authorities broke up a plot to bomb underwater New York City train tunnels to flood lower Manhattan. And six people were arrested a month ago in an alleged plot to unleash a bloody rampage on Fort Dix in New Jersey.
The arrests were made in connection with a plan to set off explosives in a fuel line that feeds John F Kennedy International Airport and runs through residential areas, officials close to the investigation said. The pipeline takes fuel from a depot in Linden, New Jersey, to the airport. Other lines service LaGuardia Airport and Newark Liberty International Airport.
The suspects in New York are believed to include a Guyanese man who used to work at the airport and was arrested in New York City. Two other suspects were apprehended in Trinidad. Investigators were seeking a fourth suspect in Trinidad. The plotters are believed to have conducted surveillance on giant jet fuel tanks at JFK and the pipeline. They had taken surveillance video of the targets back to Trinidad to review, an official said.
The arrests mark the latest in a series of alleged homegrown terrorism plots targeting high-profile American landmarks.
A year ago, seven men were arrested in what officials called the early stages of a plot to blow up the Sears Tower in Chicago and destroy FBI offices and other buildings. A month later, authorities broke up a plot to bomb underwater New York City train tunnels to flood lower Manhattan. And six people were arrested a month ago in an alleged plot to unleash a bloody rampage on Fort Dix in New Jersey.
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