Jokhan is a naturalized American who was raised in Trinidad and Tobago, which has one of the largest concentrations of Muslims in the Caribbean.
There is a large concentration of Trinidadians in South Florida, and this is the first I've heard of Islam on the island -- a reminder that not all terrorists (or terrorist wannabe's) are Arab...the common denominator is Islam.
Blush...all I did was wander over to the miami.com website to see what's going to happen now that the artificial reef sunk a wee bit prematurely and turned turtle--and parts of it are now sticking out of the water--and this punched me in the face. First, all the hair on my arms stood up and second, I said, "HOLY SH!T!" and posted it ASAP.
I'm waiting for the Sami Al-Arian crowd to drive down from Tampa to hold a rally for these two. Sheesh.
Posted on Sat, May. 18, 2002 | ||
Two Muslims from Broward County are facing terrorism conspiracy charges after they were indicted Friday for plotting the bombing of South Florida electrical substations and a National Guard Armory as part of a ``holy war.'' The purported leader, Imran Mandhai, 19, a Pakistani national and computer-science student at Broward Community College, has been in U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service custody since Feb. 13. Co-defendant Shueyb Mossa Jokhan was arrested by FBI anti-terrorism agents Friday morning at his Hollywood apartment. Jokhan, who turns 24 on Sunday, is a naturalized American who hails from Trinidad and Tobago. NO LINK TO BIN LADEN While both men attended prayer meetings at the Darul Uloom Islamic Institute in Pembroke Pines, the Broward-based jihad did not appear to be connected to Osama bin Laden or the al Qaeda operatives who perpetrated the Sept. 11 hijacking attacks, said U.S. Attorney Guy A. Lewis. ''Obviously, after Sept. 11, there's a heightened awareness on our part to these type of allegations,'' Lewis said. Both men are charged with conspiracy to damage and destroy property with fire and explosives. Mandhai is additionally charged with soliciting Jokhan to attempt to damage the property of an energy facility. The indictment alleges Mandhai was seeking funding to acquire AK-47 rifles, night-vision equipment, stun guns, pepper spray, smoke grenades. Clearly they were hurting for cash: At one point, Mandhai and Jokhan attempted to buy an AK-47 for $300 at a Fort Lauderdale gun show, but Jokhan's credit card was rejected. They allegedly plotted to bomb a National Guard Armory in Hollywood and electric substations with light-to-nonexistent security in Miami Shores and near Miami International Airport. Several other targets, including Jewish community centers, were discussed, but contrary to prior reports, the group did not seriously consider bombing the mammoth Florida Power & Light generating plant at Port Everglades, the sources said. Mandhai immigrated to South Florida from Karachi with his parents in 1998. He graduated from McArthur High School in 2000. Mandhai is in his second year of computer-science classes at BCC, where he has a work-study job in the registrar's office. Mandhai's father, Mohammed, and immigration lawyers have previously disputed accusations that the 19-year-old could have hatched such a violent scheme and intimated he was entrapped by others. LIVES IN HOLLYWOOD Jokhan also lives with his family in a Hollywood apartment close to the mosque. He works at an American Express bill-processing facility in Plantation. Jokhan's family could not be reached Friday, and representatives of his lawyers did not return calls. Authorities said the bombing campaign would have been a precursor to seeking demands from the United States and other governments, including the release of people the plotters considered to be mujahedin prisoners. Law enforcement sources said one prisoner Mandhai was hoping to free was Hakki Cemal Aksoy, 36, a Turkish Muslim currently in prison on weapons and false documents charges. While Aksoy was not directly named in Friday's indictment, the sources said he escorted Mandhai to gun ranges and shows between May and November 2000 and once ''showed Mandhai a collection of books on car bombs and homemade explosives at his home,'' according to the indictment. ''To my knowledge, Mr. Aksoy has nothing to do with the acts alleged in that indictment,'' said Aksoy's attorney, David O. Markus. According to trial testimony, Aksoy was involved in a ''blood feud'' in Turkey and fled to the United States after he was accused of murdering his father's killers. He asked for political asylum in 1993, but didn't receive any response from the INS. So, in 1997, a destitute Aksoy resorted to using phony immigration papers so he could find work. BOGUS PAPERS FOUND Federal agents who raided Aksoy's home in November 2000 discovered the bogus immigration papers, a 9mm pistol and several ''how to'' manuals for would-be bomb builders and fugitives -- some of the same manuals Aksoy allegedly shared with Mandhai. A federal jury convicted Aksoy in February. Last month, U.S. District Judge Federico Moreno sentenced Aksoy to 10 years in prison, eight years more than sentencing guidelines dictated. He declared Aksoy a danger to the community largely on the ''how-to'' manuals found in his home. |
And from the Fort Lauderdale Sun Sentinel"
U.S. says plotters aimed at FPL
By Jeff Shields
and Tanya Weinberg Staff Writers
Posted May 18 2002
A 19-year-old Pakistani immigrant and his friend, in pursuit of their own Islamic jihad, plotted to bring South Florida to its knees by bombing power stations and a National Guard Armory, federal authorities charged in an indictment unsealed Friday in Fort Lauderdale. Imran Mandhai, a college student who emigrated from Pakistan in 1998, and Shueyb Mossa Jokhan, a 24-year-old native of Trinidad and Tobago, hoped to trigger anarchy in South Florida with the bombings, according to the indictment. They would be followed "with a list of demands to be placed on the United States government and other governments around the world," U.S. Attorney Guy Lewis said Friday. Inspired by a supposed Islamic militant who attended the same mosque in Pembroke Pines, armed with The Anarchist Cookbook and other how-to terrorist guides, Mandhai recruited Jokhan to plan a "holy war" in South Florida, the indictment says. |