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Caribbean-Latin America
Mexico Deports Pakistani Man
2005-06-16
Authorities in the border city of Tijuana deported a Pakistani man who is under investigation by U.S. authorities for alleged weapons trafficking, and U.S. police took him into custody Wednesday. A man identified as Pakistani citizen Arif Durrani, a former legal U.S. resident who was deported from the United States in the late 1990s, was sent by Mexico on a flight to his native Pakistan. But he was taken into U.S. custody during a layover in Los Angeles, said U.S. consulate spokeswoman Liza Davis. Another U.S. official speaking on customary condition of anonymity confirmed that Durrani was the target of an ongoing arms trafficking investigation. However, she and other officials refused to divulge specific details of the investigation, or confirm if Durrani was the man who was convicted in 1987 for selling missile parts to Iran, and who claimed he had been part of the Iran-Contra scandal.

Mexican authorities had also said earlier the Pakistani was wanted in a weapons trafficking probe. He was detained earlier this week along with three Afghan-born men and a Syrian, all of whom apparently entered Tijuana from the United States. All five men were detained at a Tijuana hotel with hookers; none had a Mexican tourist visa, and all were considered to be in the country without permission. The five were picked up as federal police and soldiers were deployed over the weekend to reinforce local police struggling against a surge in violence linked to drug gangs along the Mexico side of the U.S. border. The Afghans and the Syrian are all U.S. citizens or residents and all were deported to the United States Wednesday; none of them faces any charges or apparently any ongoing investigation there.
Posted by:Fred

#5  Durrani, a former U.S. resident, was convicted in the United States in 1987 of selling missile parts to Iran and served five years in prison. He was deported from the United States in 1998 and apparently has lived in Mexico since then.
It was unclear whether the current investigation was related to Durrani's prior conviction.


I'd say no, he most likely has been up to his old tricks again.

He had claimed to have acted as part of the 1980s Iran-Contra scandal, in which arms were sold to Iran to finance Nicaraguan rebels when the U.S. Congress had barred such aid. In 2003, Durrani petitioned a U.S. court to have his conviction overturned and asked to review more government documents to try to prove he sold the parts at the behest of former Lt. Col. Oliver North and other U.S. officials.

Posted by: Steve   2005-06-16 13:01  

#4  I believe FOX reported the two cops were guards at a baptism, which makes me wonder why they felt the need to have police there. Weddings are popular in terrorist circles as the families gain political and business advantages. I agree about Mexico not being our friend and I think there is more to the story here. Denver is a sanctuary city for illegal immigrants, just inviting trouble.
Posted by: Danielle   2005-06-16 12:10  

#3  Ask Mexico about extraditing the cop-killer back to Denver. An illegal alien who shot 2 police officers, killing one -- 2 shots to the back of the head, left a widow and 2 kids. All because they wouldnt let his drunk ass into an ex girlfriend's wedding (and on top of it he is married and has a kid with someone else).

Been hearing noises (Congressman Tancredo supposedly) that Mexico is saying they will decided *IF* they are going to extradite him in 1 to 3 YEARS. And in order to get that out of the Mexicans, they had to take the death penalty and life-without-parole off the table.

Mexico is NOT our friend. This was likely just an accident on their part.
Posted by: OldSpook   2005-06-16 08:26  

#2  Good job organizing the layover in LAX.
Posted by: gromky   2005-06-16 01:01  

#1   He was detained earlier this week along with three Afghan-born men and a Syrian, all of whom apparently entered Tijuana from the United States.

goddam sandbaks! who in gaurdin tijawana! tryin rooin teh goddam donkee shows. timen start em menudo mens.

Posted by: muck4doo   2005-06-16 00:14  

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