Saddam's stepson arrested in Miami - Was to attend Flight School

WSNV Miami - Website ^

[rightisright]

A man thought to be the step-son of Saddam Hussein was arrested tonight in Miami on an immigration violation. Mohammad Saffi arrived in the Los Angelas yesterday on a flight from New Zeland and then came to Miami. He came to South Florida to attend a flight school.

[Criminal Number 18F]

New Zealand is mad at us...!?

They'll scramble their Air Force... eh... belay that... maybe they can get Sir Tim Wallis to lend the nation a Hurricane or something.

d.o.l.

Criminal Number 18F

[Marine Inspector]

I'll see what I can find out.

[A Citizen Reporter]

"I wonder who issued the visa, and a few more details too."

"He is currently in FBI and INS custody

Well, good evening, Fred. I'm not sure, but the story is that he is in custody now. What more could you ask for....if you weren't a whiner?

[The KG9 Kid]

That is true.

[beckett]

I've just be watching this story on the local news. Muhammed Saffi was born of a woman who had an affair with Hussein in the late 70s, and she subsequently married him. Saffi has been a flight engineer for a New Zealand airline for the last few years. After 9-11, New Zealand security forces became aware of his relationship to Hussein and he was checked out, apparently causing no particular reason for alarm. He is married with children and apparently has a good reputation among his New Zealand colleagues. It seems a routine communication was made by New Zealand authorities to the FBI when Saffi left New Zealand a few days ago. The INS picked him up in Miami when it was learned that he traveled on a regular New Zealand visa (NZ travelers normally do not require any special visa to enter the USA). The INS says he should have had a student visa, since he planned to attend a 3 day flight school here. That is the only charge they are holding him on.

It will be interesting to learn exactly what kind of airplane Saffi was scheduled to train on, when the lessons were scheduled to take place, and whether he had any contacts in the area prior to his arrival here.

I find it hard to believe that Saffi would be dumb enough to think that he could just waltz into the USA given his family relations and the stated intentions of the President of the United States regarding his stepfather. His arrival here on an important holiday weekend is very suspicious. Why travel around the world for flight school? Why not go to Melbourne or Sidney?

Weird story.

[honway]

Title: Iraqi Air NZ link Authorities: Hussein's stepson at airline
Date: 12/24/2001
Publication: The Press (Canterbury, New Zealand)
Author: Not specified

Partial Text: Iraqi Air NZ link Authorities: Hussein's stepson at airline

EDITION: 2 SECTION: NEWS:NATIONAL COLUMN: NEWS AUCKLAND -- A security sweep after the September 11 terrorist attacks in the United States has uncovered an engineer working at Air New Zealand who authorities believe is the stepson of Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein. The man has been subjected to an intense, multi-a

[jraven]

Ahemmm my post about Saddam's step son being unjustly detailed was a J-O-K-E, lame as it was and is. We MIGHT lighten up a bit, you know? Of COURSE it is NO SURPRISE that he was detained. They were probably watching him quite closely and if they hadn't he might have flown a plane one day into the White House.

[rintense]

NZ no longer had an airforce. FYI, FOXNEWS just reported that Saffi will be deported.

[rintense]

What's the Kiwi take on this guy?

[rintense]

That would be HAS an airforce.

[Burr5]

Poor innocent, estranged step-son of Saddam Freaking Hussein! My take would be: better safe than sorry. See you later kid! Don't let the INS revolving door hit you in the ass on your way back to "New Zealand"!

[pops88]

His arrival here on an important holiday weekend is very suspicious. Why travel around the world for flight school? Why not go to Melbourne or Sidney?

The Australian sims weren't approved. The sim scheduling had nothing to do with the holiday, but availability of the sim.

[Howlin]

And it IS Saddamn's son, right? That's what I heard.

[jraven]

Since (and I mean it when I say I am truly shocked) it seems people did not GET the fact I was being sarcastic about Sadaam's step son, here is my true feeling:
I think they're watching anyone even remotely connected with Sadam's government or family...and for good reason. It's very unlikely he was simply taking a flight seminar because he wants to provide more efficient flight training. The downside is, since he was arrested in the US I don't think they will be able to use some of the interrogation techniques they might be able to do if he was captured overseas or if there was a more patently sinister offense for which he was arrested. But if they can prove any kind of a tie, or anything but 100 percent altruist motives, perhaps they have the beginnings of some kind of an actual link to Sadaam. If so, and he this step son is released for a while, he may have to fear Daddy's wrath, or hit squad.
Thanks for the compliment about me making a great defense attorney. I just wrote the most stupid defense I could...and some people on this newsgroup believed it. Maybe I SHOULD change professions (nah, there are enough lawyers who make up things already, and a good portion of them go into politics).

[rintense]

Stepson is what FOX is saying.

[John H K]

Ummm....

There isn't a scrap of evidence this guy has ever been within 1000 miles of Saddam Hussein. I'm guessing he hasn't.

[A Citizen Reporter]

Never fear, the Judicial Watch gang is on this story......'I am sure....'

[A Citizen Reporter]

Well hello, you must be Saffi's new defense attorney...eh?

[concerned about politics]

. Saffi has been a flight engineer for a New Zealand airline for the last few years.

The pilots who flew into the WTC were working on the plan since 1995. (FR archives. Please don't ask me to bother to look it up. I'm too lazy. )

[honway]

* SECURITY ALERT OVER SADDAM LINK
New Zealand Herald, 22nd December

A security sweep after the September 11 attacks in America has uncovered an
engineer working at Air New Zealand who authorities believe is the stepson
of Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein.

The man has been subjected to an intense, multi-agency examination of his
background and the vetting and checks made upon his appointment.

Mohammad Saffi has worked as an engineer in a secure area for Air NZ and
lived in Auckland with his family for several years.

He would not discuss with the Weekend Herald his family background, and the
airline late yesterday indicated that it was satisfied there was nothing
further to investigate.

But the discovery that he was working for the national carrier triggered a
high-level security alert within police and other Government agencies.

The case, which came to the attention of officials after the terrorist
attacks on America three months ago, raised questions about vetting
procedures at the airline and by agencies responsible for residency
approvals.

A woman the police believe is Mr Saffi's mother, Samira Shahbandar, is
reported to have been married to the Iraqi President after a relationship
that began in the 1980s.

Approached at his North Shore home this week, Mr Saffi dismissed the reports
as rumour.

He told the Weekend Herald he was considering going overseas but said this
had nothing to do with the attention from the authorities.

"They have the right to ask any time they want," he said. "I don't have a
problem at all. I do work in a secure area, I do fly with the aeroplanes as
well. I don't think I have had a hard time compared to any other country."

Weekend Herald inquiries have established that Mr Saffi, aged 35, has been
in the country since at least 1997. He has worked for Air New Zealand as an
engineer in the aircraft maintenance area.

His family background became known to the security agencies during checks
ordered after September 11, causing alarm about how a person with such an
alleged background had settled in New Zealand without coming to anyone's
attention.

A highly confidential investigation involving senior police unfolded over
several weeks. Mr Saffi was quizzed repeatedly and the sensitivity of his
case meant it was kept within a tight circle of officers.

The police national crime manager, Superintendent Bill Bishop, refused to
comment on the specifics of the case but released a statement saying: "NZ
Police have a responsibility for taking the lead on domestic security
issues. Any inquiry by police is intended to ensure the safety and security
of the community both here and overseas."

Air NZ's vice-president in charge of public affairs, David Beatson, said he
was unable to comment on the specific case, to protect Mr Saffi's privacy.
But the airline had systems to deal with potential threats to safety and
security.

"There are processes by which we are advised of potential threats to the
airline's security by both New Zealand and international authorities," he
said.

"Were we to be advised, or to discover ourselves, that an employee presented
a threat to the security of the airline, we would make an assessment of the
threat and take appropriate action. No such action is in train."

His comment is understood to indicate that authorities and the airline no
longer consider Mr Saffi's case to be of concern.

A spokesman for the Immigration Service, Ian Smith, said people making
residency applications were required to declare "all parents, brothers,
sisters, including full, step, half and adopted brothers and sisters".

He would not comment on whether Mr Saffi had declared any relationship with
Saddam.

Mr Saffi's parents are believed to be Samira Shahbandar, a former flight
attendant, and Nor Aldin Saffi, who was a high-ranking official within the
Government-owned Iraqi Airways.

Various sources, including the Washington Post, say that Mrs Shahbandar
became Saddam's mistress in the late 1980s. A biography of Saddam and other
reports, including in London's Daily Telegraph, say the pair were married.

A judgment issued by the British Law Lords regarding a court case between
the Iraqi and Kuwait airlines this year named Nor Aldin Saffi as a
director-general of Iraqi Airways, though it is understood he no longer
holds this position.

When the Weekend Herald put it to Mohammad Saffi that he had been questioned
about his relationship with Saddam, he said: "In New Zealand it is quite far
away from where we come from and any rumours just ... I don't think I have
had a hard time compared to any other country."

Asked if his mother was Mrs Shahbandar, he said: "Actually, I don't have
time to talk now."

He declined to be interviewed later, saying: "I think I gave you the
picture. I think they went and asked all the people who work in aviation all
over the world." He said he did not want publicity.

Mr Saffi said he was exploring work opportunities elsewhere.

"I'm always looking for other options," he said. "If I get a good offer, I
will go away ... work tax-free for a couple of years, pay my mortgage and
come back and relax."

A member of the Iraqi community in New Zealand said people knew about his
background, though they were not clear about the exact details.

"I understand his mother was married for a couple of years and then
separated," said the community member. "You can never find this as official
news in Iraq."

The man said that while some people were wary of Mr Saffi, nobody considered
him dangerous or a risk. "He is a very quiet man, a very nice man," he said.

An Air NZ source described him as friendly. "He seems like a nice guy," said
the source.

"He worked for a while at terminal services in the international terminal,
then he got a job down at the hangar as aircraft maintenance. He has flown
overseas as a service engineer [for Air NZ aircraft]."

An official from Washington-based opposition group the Iraqi National
Congress said Mrs Shahbandar was Saddam's mistress before they married in
1986.

He understood they were still married.

Her first husband, Nor Aldin Saffi, held a senior position within Iraqi
Airways until the mid-1990s, said the INC official.

He was not sure how Mrs Shahbandar's family viewed Saddam.

"I'm sure they don't like what happened to their mother. Basically, Saddam
made her divorce her husband and marry him, which is something I don't think
any kid would appreciate," he said.

"[Nor Aldin Saffi] was rewarded by being given a post within the airways."

Reports from America said the relationship between Mrs Shahbandar and Saddam
had caused problems with Saddam's extended family.

Uday Hussein, Saddam's eldest son to his first wife, was reportedly enraged
when he found out about the affair.

The Middle East Review of International Affairs said Uday murdered a
bodyguard of Saddam because he had acted as a messenger between the
President and his mistress.

The Washington Post reported that when Saddam's father-in-law objected to
the marriage with Mrs Shahbandar he was stripped of his property.

Other dissenting family and friends were wounded or died mysteriously.