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| Terror Suspect Arrested in North Carolina |
| 2002-11-15 |
| Peter tried to post this, and found a bug in the GuestPoster. I fixed it, but let me know about any more you find. It's a cut-down version of the son of the poster I use. Guess I didn't cut it down enough... An alleged leader of a terrorist sleeper cell in Michigan who is believed to be an expert in airport security is in federal custody. The man, identified in court papers in North Carolina as Abel-Ilah Elmardoudi, 36, of Minneapolis, was accused in an August indictment of acting with ``a covert underground support unit'' and an ``operational combat cell'' for a radical Islamic movement allied with al-Qaida. At the time of the indictment, the man was known only as Abdella. Federal officials allege Elmardoudi provided direction to three other men charged in the indictment. Elmardoudi, Karim Koubriti, 24, Ahmed Hannan, 34, and Farouk Ali-Haimoud, 22, were charged with conspiracy to provide material support or resources to terrorists. Koubriti, Hannan and Ali-Haimoud have pleaded innocent. A trial is scheduled for Jan. 21. Sounds like they found a cell of active Bad Guys. In the Second World War they used to shoot or hang spies and saboteurs. The indictment says the men sought to obtain weaponry to benefit operatives overseas and recruit people for violent activity. The indictment says the other suspects knew Elmardoudi as an expert in airport security operations, telephone calling card fraud and falsifying identification. All the things Islamists do to fill their spare time. Other people go bowling, or to the movies... At a Minneapolis convenience store near one of Elmardoudi's former addresses, store owner Ismaeel Alkhlafea said Elmardoudi came in often to buy cigarettes and other small items. But Alkhlafea said it's been at least a year since he's seen Elmardoudi. He said Elmardoudi was in trouble because of a phone scam and had called the store collect from jail twice to leave a message for his wife. ``I knew he was in trouble with the law, but I didn't think it was that serious,'' Alkhlafea said. Guess it wasn't, at the time. Mr Big Time Terrorist is a small-time crook at heart... Court documents in Minneapolis show that a man with a similar name, Abdel-Ilah Elmardoudi, was arrested more than a year ago and charged with stealing telephone calling-card numbers by peering over people's shoulders at the Minneapolis-St. Paul airport. Obviously a criminal mastermind. Professor Moriarty must be green with envy... Over 14 months, more than 790 calling-card access numbers were obtained at the airport and used in calls from places such as Egypt, East Africa, the Philippines, the Middle East and the Balkans, according to a court affidavit. All the fun places... Minneapolis U.S. Attorney Tom Heffelfinger said that man, who is listed as a citizen of Morocco, disappeared in 2001. Heffelfinger said he believed that man was in federal custody in North Carolina, but would not confirm whether it was the same man facing charges in Detroit. I wonder if he "disappeared" when he jumped bail, or when the Feds took an interest in him? |
| Posted by:Fred Pruitt |
| #2 Perhaps eventually the Irish will be shamed into putting away such things by being compared to the Islamists. At the moment, they probably don't see the Islamists as the losing side - yet. |
| Posted by: Fred 2002-11-15 10:43:37 |
| #1 How about all the mis-guided Irish-Americans that have been supporting and romantising the IRA and its killing and maiming machine for years. I'd love to see our standards stay singly focused on putting those types away also. And I am a 1st generation Irish-American and Catholic to boot. |
| Posted by: Jack 2002-11-15 10:39:04 |