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Contradicting the claims of U.S. officials, acting Colombian Attorney General Jorge Armando Otálora insisted Friday that his country's detectives uncovered evidence that the criminal gang may have supplied false documents to members of al Qaeda and Hamas terrorists.
The U.S. Justice Department denied any links between the counterfeiters and foreign terrorist organizations other than outlawed armed groups in Colombia.
As part of the undercover operation, coordinated with Colombian prosecutors and DAS secret police, operatives working for the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, disguised themselves as members of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, and sought false passports to enter the United States.
The indictment also alleges the defendants offered to help the supposed FARC members buy and sell illegal drugs, as well as to purchase guns and two helicopters. ''I don't know what the Colombian information is based on, but if there was any involvement of Islamic terrorist groups, we would be pursuing it to the hilt,'' said Bryan Sierra, a Justice Department spokesman.