Posted on 05/24/2004 6:35:08 AM PDT by bigsoxfan
(CNSNews.com) - An Iranian man recently convicted of drug trafficking, is also suspected of money laundering and smuggling people from Iraq, Iran, Syria and Jordan into the United States. According to federal court documents, Mehrzad Arbane also told a former associate turned government informant in October of 2001 that he "may have smuggled two of the hijackers who flew the planes into the towers in New York on September 11, 2001."
In the shadowy world of terrorist groups and those who enable their activities, it's doubtful that any comprehensive records are kept on the identities of people secreted into the United States, thus the uncertainty over whether Arbani actually did help members of the 9/11 terrorist team.
Arbane was convicted May 13 in U.S. District Court in the southern district of Florida for conspiracy to import 261 kilograms of cocaine into the United States. He is now expected to stand trial in New York for harboring illegal aliens, including two from Iran, according to government officials.
Court documents obtained by CNSNews.com state that Jairo Velez, who "was well known for his ability to smuggle cocaine from Colombia to Mexico and into the United States," met Arbane in 1999 and the two began joint operations to smuggle cocaine into the United States.
But two years later, Velez became a government informant and supplied court testimony to help prosecutors convict Arbane. Velez' motivation, according to the documents, was driven by his nervousness over comments by Arbane about his possible involvement in smuggling two of the Sept. 11 hijackers into the U. S.
"It was at this point that Velez decided to cooperate with U.S. law enforcement," according to the court documents.
The investigation into Arbane's activities continues, but it's unclear how and whether the government is attempting to confirm a link between Arbane and some of the 9/11 hijackers.
The 261 kilograms of cocaine was seized from an apartment in Ecuador that had been rented by Arbane. A three-judge panel in Ecuador tried and acquitted Arbane on drug charges, according to court papers, but when Arbane returned to the U.S., he was arrested and tried in Florida because he and Velez had met in Miami to plan the transfer of the cocaine from Ecuador to the U.S.
Since the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, the U.S. government has become increasingly concerned about certain South American nations harboring terrorist elements.
Seven months after the worst terrorist attacks in American history, Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage made reference to South America while asking the U.S. House Appropriations Foreign Operations Subcommittee for more money to fight the war on terror.
"Ecuador , we believe, we have got in the tri-border area a bit of a problem with al Qaeda itself and some Hezbollah elements. We do need cooperation, and frankly we are afraid as we squeeze Colombia with hopefully the assistance and support of the Congress, that like a balloon, some of the problems might balloon out in other areas. We want to do what we can to try to keep Ecuador from ballooning out," Armitage told House members.
According to the State Department, Hezbollah is "known or suspected to have been involved in numerous anti-U.S. terrorist attacks" and "receives substantial amounts of financial, training, weapons, explosives, political, diplomatic, and organizational aid from Iran and Syria."
Brian Fairchild, a retired CIA operative who is currently with the Higgins Counter-terrorism Research Center based in Arlington, Va., told CNSNews.com that the fact that the drug smuggling operation for which Arbane has been convicted and the alien smuggling operation for which he's been charged contain a Middle East element may be more than mere coincidence.
"We know that terrorist organizations have hooked up with drug trafficking organizations and we have known for some time about the alien smuggling link to terrorism," Fairchild said.
Arbane has not been charged with any terrorism-related crimes but government sources have told CNSNews.com that Arbane's alien smuggling operation was responsible for countless numbers of people who likely would have been flagged had they tried to enter the U.S. legally.
"Even if he is not part of a terrorist organization, he could still be used for their purposes," Fairchild told CNSNews.com .
The revelations about the Arbane case come at a time when the FBI has reportedly notified law enforcement agencies to be on the lookout for suicide bombers who may be inside the U.S. The Bush White House is also reportedly braced for attempted attacks inside America during this presidential election year, especially after bombings at a Madrid train station ended up costing Spain's incumbent administration the election in March.
Fairchild said terrorist organizations are becoming more effective in the ways that they reach the U.S. "We know they are associated with drug smugglers to make money for the jihad - but even more alarming would be if they are piggy-backing on the drug smugglers' networks to facilitate getting their people, materials and possibly even weapons of mass destruction into the country.
"That is a scary force multiplier," Fairchild added.
You mean we should actually try to stop illegal immigrants?
Where do you come up with such crazy ideas?
I'm sure John Kerry woud have caught him with help from the UN.
</sarc>
The are only doing the terrorist activity that Americans refuse to do...
"We know that terrorist organizations have hooked up with drug trafficking organizations and we have known for some time about the alien smuggling link to terrorism," Fairchild said.
This diary was found on an immigrant smuggling trail in February '03, when it was lost by its young Iranian owner.
Bump!
Didn't State give them all visas so that they could enter legally?
Besides, they pay more in taxes than they take in services and they are doing all those nasty jobs which Americans refuse to do,... like flying airplanes into skyscrapers!
Bump
You have some evidence that some of the hijackers did not come legally?
I notice nothing was said about govt. actually getting some control over the borders.
Just in case you didn't read the article carefully, that was the point of the article; terrorists, drug dealers and alien smugglers have teaming up to make money and get into this country easily. After all, if we can have over 10,000,000 Mexicans and others waltz across our southern border, including pregnant women and small children, this should be a piece of cake for trained terrorist operatives with lots of money.
Up until reading this article (which disputes the "legal entrance" information through anecdotal sources), it appears the 9/11 hijackers managed to get into this country "legally", although some were staying here "illegally".
Mehrzad Arbane also told a former associate turned government informant in October of 2001 that he "may have smuggled two of the hijackers who flew the planes into the towers in New York on September 11, 2001."
I rather doubt he is correct, unless this can be corroborated by better sources. However, my point still stands: our borders are open to easy entry by terrorists, not to mention millions of other illegal aliens, none of which have any business being here.
Illegal aliens are one thing. Terrorists are another. Terrorists came through legal channels because that was the smart way to do it.
Only the stupidest of terrorists would try to come in over the Mexican border for several reasons. From Canada it is a different story and that is a far more likely route than through Mexico.
I read the article carefully and was underwhelmed by its usefulness. Did it say ANYTHING of value?
Ecuador isn't the only country to be concerned about. From my report on Rep. Tom Tancredo's speech in Nashville last month:
"The Congressman went on to tell us how most Middle Eastern people of questionable nature are brokering their importation into the U.S. through a specific crime family based in Brazil. He said that the problem is so large that the bearers of 9 out of 10 Brazilian passports are in fact not Brazilians."
So what if Arbane didn't bring in any 911 hijackers specifically? There's a whole network bringing in Middle Eastern terrorists up to no good while our government has been underplaying the threat. It's no longer a hypothesis but a certainty that our Islamists enemies are using the U.S.'s double standards toward immigration enforcement against us.
We know the terrorists desperately hope for a soft-on-terror Democrat administration. Pulling a "Spanish Surprise" within the next five months would be just the thing to tilt the fence sitters toward making it so. The irony lies in the fact that the current administration shaped the circumstances that threaten its own demise.
If you don't like the article, it's OK by me. But I think your objection is less about the content of the article than my initial sarcastic remarks. Tough. I'm sick of illegal aliens and terrorists, both. Each are threats to our country in their own way, although for different reasons and magnitudes.
Some of our politicians have sort of figured out the threat which terrorists pose and taken some actions. Few have yet to do much substantial about illegal aliens or even publically recognize them as a looming threat, instead looking at them as merely cheap labor and a potential voting bloc.
BUMP
Nonsense. Arrests have gone up dramatically along the Southern border since 9/11. But it is foolish to believe these people are any kind of terrorist threat now or in the future. They are doing what they have ALWAYS done, come here for work. For almost the entire history of our country NO ONE CARED about Mexicans wandering back and forth across the border. Certainly the present administration has done nothing to make the situation worse or create it.
Addressing the problems associated with I.I.s from Mexico is a necessity but confusing this with national security concerns will only weaken both responses. Problems such as the criminal gangs and using passports for entry are FAR more threatening. However, criminal gangs doing this for long is unlikely since it creates a far higher profile for them than simple drug running and, thus, will threaten the organizations' profits over the long run.
It is also false that our government is underplaying the existence of networks within the country. There have been arrests, trials, convictions all across the nation as these networks (mostly for funding) have been shut down. One "charity" after the other has been closed, funds seized and leaders jailed. Why do you think the ACLU and CAIR are screaming?
Middle Eastern immigration has been cut back drastically or eliminated altogether in some cases. Violations routinely ignored in the past (as with Atta) are no longer overlooked.
It is of much greater importance to force the larger cities (RAT-controlled) to co-operate with the Immigration authorities rather than impede their work as at present.
ONe must approach each set of problems with a particular set of solutions. Mingling terrorism/II doesnt accomplish much for either problem. This article by mingling them in a transparently dubious manner doesn't help matters.
Until the nation decides to do something about II it won't be possible to stop it. As we speak RAT-run major cities will not assist immigration authorities. Churches provide room, board and legal assistance to the IIs. This is far more than a federal problem.
Terrorism IS being addressed, however, and there have been many arrests, trials and convictions across the country. The screams in protest of the RATmedia, ACLU and CAIR are proof that the program is working well.
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