Indian held after 9/11 strikes sentenced

The Times of India ^ | Augustus 16 2002 | AP

[knighthawk]

NEW YORK: Syed Gul Mohammad Shah, an Indian formerly suspected in the US government's terrorism investigation, has been sentenced to one year and one day in prison for credit card fraud.

Shah, 35, pleaded guilty in June. He was sentenced on Thursday in US District Court in Manhattan and ordered to pay restitution of about $415,000. Shah, who is from Hyderabad, admitted selling 15 fraudulent credit cards for up to $2,000 each in the black market.

He and Mohammed Azmath, 37, were arrested on a train in Texas on September 12 after law enforcement authorities found two box cutters, hair dye, a knife and several thousand dollars among their belongings.

Azmath also pleaded guilty and is expected to be sentenced next month.

The circumstances surrounding their arrests made them suspects in the government's terrorism probe. But investigators later concluded that Shah and Azmath were not linked to terrorism.

[knighthawk]

Ping

[denydenydeny]

For background, the two mentioned in this story were on UA Flight 43 on September 11, another transcontinental flight that was grounded after the FAA order, and they continued traveling by train as described.

It has been theorized that they were part of another hijack team that possibly lost its nerve. But considering the wide differences in ethnicity and age between these guys and the 19 hijackers who died, I don't believe it.

[Shermy]

You talked about these guys before.

[OldFriend]

If I am not mistaken these two men were on a train due to the premature landing of ALL planes on Sept. 11th. Anyone doubt they planning a hijacking?

[Neanderthal]

"It has been theorized that they were part of another hijack team that possibly lost its nerve. But considering the wide differences in ethnicity and age between these guys and the 19 hijackers who died, I don't believe it."

Those names sure sound Muslim to me. The only evidence that doesn't fit the hijacker theory is that they are a little older (mid-30's) than the successful hijackers.

[BrooklynGOP]

Yea, they are muslim. NY daily news actually specify that they are "Indian muslims".

[denydenydeny]

I said differences in ethnicity, not religion. All the September 11th hijackers were Arabs. These guys are not Arabs. "Muslim" is not an ethnicity.

If these two were part of the same plot, then why didn't they go through with it? They were on the plane. They were in the air.

And who would have been the pilot? Neither of these guys were.

It's more likely that they were wannabes who found out about the plot (it was apparently common knowledge in a certain segment of the radical Muslim community in New Jersey). And presumably, they wanted to play at being hijackers for the thrill of it, but had no intention of actually carrying out a real hijacking. Or, less likely, they may have been on a dry run for a future hijacking.

But they were not part of the September 11th plot. I am certain of that.