Two men are charged with smuggling Middle Easterners for $20,000 each

Miami.com ^ | 09/14/2002 | Associated Press

[Marine Inspector]

	Posted on Sat, Sep. 14, 2002
	Two men are charged with smuggling Middle Easterners for $20,000 each Associated Press Two men from Pakistan and Sri Lanka were held without bail Friday on charges that they smuggled Middle Easterners into the United States through third countries for $20,000 each. Iqbal Munawar and Chelliah Sri Kajamukam were arrested late Thursday at Miami International Airport on charges filed in New York, federal authorities said. They made federal court appearances Friday and were ordered to return to court for bond hearings Thursday. An Indian businessman led the smuggling ring, which illegally flew people to Miami and New York and carried them to the United States by boat, FBI agent Timothy Ryan wrote in a court affidavit. Nathu Babu Dhamelia, allegedly the head of a five-member ring, has issued more than 1,500 Cuban visas to people trying to reach the United States, according to an anonymous tip, the affidavit said. His whereabouts were not immediately known. Dhamelia was described by the tipster as an honorary Cuban consul. The Customs Service in Miami intercepted a DHL package addressed to Dhamelia in New Delhi last month, Ryan's report said. The package contained 55 blank Cuban tourist visas and two blank Jamaican immigration cards. Kajamukam, 37, is a Canadian citizen born in Sri Lanka. He was arrested after flying Thursday from the Bahamas to Miami, after a U.S. immigration inspector in the Bahamas found several blank Canadian immigration forms for sponsoring the arrival of immigrants in the United States. Munawar, 40, a Pakistani national, was arrested Thursday night at the Miami airport. He initially denied it but later told airport agents that he and Dhamelia traveled together in Ecuador on import-export business this year. An Ecuadorean flight manifest showed Dhamelia and Munawar were assigned to seats next to each other on a domestic flight last April 30. The investigation was based on an anonymous letter received at the U.S. consulate in Bombay, India, in June 2001. The letter said Dhamelia and Kajamukam were involved in an attempt to smuggle 29 people by ship from Ecuador through Panama to the United States, Ryan's affidavit said. Interviewed Tuesday in Mahwah, N.J., Dhamelia's wife told Ryan and other FBI agents that her husband smuggled people by air from Jamaica and by boat.

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© 2001 miami and wire service sources. All Rights Reserved.
http://www.miami.com

[Marine Inspector]

ping

[Cindy]

Links of Interest:

WTOP NEWS.com (AP): "MORE MISTAKEN RELEASES FROM D.C. JAILS" (ARTICLE SNIPPET: "Records-keepers are being blamed for the release of four inmates just last month, including a student from Pakistan who was accused of threatening to kill President Bush in the days after the September eleventh terror attacks. The student, Khushal Khan, and three other inmates were mistakenly freed last month, but Khan and one of the others later turned themselves in, The Washington Post reported in Tuesday editions.") (091702)

CHANNEL 3000.com: "SUSPECTED TERRORIST ARRESTED IN FLORIDA Iqbal Munawar Arrested in Alleged Immigration Scheme" (ARTICLE SNIPPET: "Munawar and two other men have been charged with smuggling illegal aliens from the Middle East into the United States on airplanes through Miami International Airport and John F. Kennedy Airport. The suspects are accused of making more than $100,000 in the smuggling operation, selling more than 1,000 false visas to illegal immigrants. Miami-Dade Mayor Alex Penelas talked to a local television station about Munawar's arrest.") (091402)

FBI.gov - Press Release: "MUKHTAR ALI ALBAKRI" (PRESS RELEASE SNIPPET: "Mr. Albakri was located and detained in a Middle Eastern country during the week of September 9, 2002. He was placed into Federal custody on Sunday, September 15, 2002, and will be arraigned today before Federal Magistrate Judge H. Kenneth Schroeder, Jr., at 1:30PM. He has been charged with a violation of the following section of the United States Code (U.S.C.): Title 18 U.S.C. § 2339(B) - Providing material support or resources to designated foreign terrorist organizations [penalty if convicted: up to 15 years imprisonment, a fine of $250,000, or both.]") (091602)

FBI.gov: Buffalo, New York. "ARREST OF FIVE INDIVIDUALS" (PRESS RELEASE NOTE: The five suspects are identified as: "SAHIM A. ALWAN (arrested 9/13), YAHYA A. GOBA (arrested 9/13), YASEIN A. TAHER (arrested 9/13), SHAFAL A. MOSED (arrested 9/13), FAYSAL GALAB (arrested 9/14). PRESS RELEASE SNIPPET: "The individuals were arraigned today before Federal Magistrate Judge H. Kenneth Schroeder, Jr., who set a detention hearing for September 18, 2002, at 2:30PM. They have been charged with violations of the following section of the United States Code (U.S.C.): Title 18 U.S.C. § 2339(B) - Providing material support or resources to designated foreign terrorist organizations [penalty if convicted: up to 15 years imprisonment, a fine of $250,000, or both.]") (091402)

SEATTLE TIMES.com: "FBI REPORTEDLY INTERESTED IN FORMER STATE ENGINEER" (ARTICLE NOTE: The former Washington State engineer is identified as Farid Adlouni, age 38.) (091402)

OREGON LIVE.com: "AL-QAIDA TRAIL TRACKED TO NW" (091302)

YAHOO! News (AP): "NEW CHARGES FOR ILLINOIS ISLAMIC CHARITY (ARTICLE NOTE: The Islamic charity is identified as the Benevolence International Foundation. ADDITIONAL NOTE: Please see the photos attached with this article.) (091402)

BBC NEWS: "TERROR SUSPECTS HELD IN SINGAPORE" (091602)

[Marine Inspector]

Thanks, good info.

[livius]

"the smuggling ring, which illegally flew people to Miami and New York and carried them to the United States by boat..."

This didn't make a lot of sense. Does this mean that they fly them in, and then take them out in boats to bring them back?

The Cuban connection is interesting, because Cubans who can make it to shore are accepted by immigration authorities. I think this is a good policy (well, I'd think it was a better one if those picked up swimming through shark infested waters in rafts made of tires were granted asylum), but I wonder if the Muslims have found a way to use even this to slip people into the US?

Islamic craziness is not too far from Communist craziness, except perhaps that it is even less law-abiding. Thus there's a spiritual bond between Castro and the local Muslim crazies. These things all come togethere. Remember, the Latin American head of the Basque leftist terrorist organization ETA recently converted to Islam, and Islamics have made much headway in Chiapas, Mexico, where the left is very active (to say the least).

I still think the Islamists and the Communists are going to have a mind-meld one of these days.

[Marine Inspector]

Does this mean that they fly them in, and then take them out in boats to bring them back?

I think they were flown into the US and brought in by boat.

[eastforker]

If I was a criminal and wanted to smuggle someone into the US,there are so many simple ways to do it,I wouldn't have any problem.How do these stupid jerks get caught anyway?I am just glad that they are caught but I would bet that many are not found out about and that is truly scary.

[Marine Inspector]

I am just glad that they are caught but I would bet that many are not found out about and that is truly scary.

Look at my profile page and be prepared to be scared.

[Cindy]

You're welcome Marine Inspector. Stay safe!

[Travis McGee]

It's not hard to shut these operations down. Make this a serious class one felony on the order of smuggling heroin, and put the smugglers away for 30 years. Deport the illegal aliens after a year of chain gang work.

[Grampa Dave]

You plan sounds good to me:Make this a serious class one felony on the order of smuggling heroin, and put the smugglers away for 30 years. Deport the illegal aliens after a year of chain gang work. (maybe 2-3 years chain gang work for the illegal aliens)

[Grampa Dave]

Great job Cindy. If you have time, could you enter the names of these clymers in as key words on these threads. I think that we will be surprised to see the same names coming up again and again.

Thanks again for indexing and keeping track of these arrests. This stuff is going start to surface fast and furious from now on.

[Mr. Mojo]

smuggling Middle Easterners for $20,000 each

If Uncle Sam will offer to pay me just $5000 a head to find, detain, and deport the sonsofbeaches back to their sandpits of origin, I'd be more than happy to do so. It would be a great profession, actually. In this particular case, I wouldn't mind being a gov't worker.

[Travis McGee]

All that it takes is political will, (which our leaders lack.)

[Marine Inspector]

At $100 a head, I could make several thousand a month.

[PsyOp]

It seems to me that what we need are some billionaire to start a bounty fund. $XXX.XX per illegal turned over to INS at a Port of Entry. Bounty hunters are legal. They should be allowed to go after illegals, and I'm sure they would if there was money in it. The government won't pay, so it will need to be private citizens. Perhaps a foundation could be set up and funded by donations. Just an Idea.

Or a Free Republic Fund. $500.00 dollars for every islamic illegal turned over to Marine Inspector.

[Marine Inspector]

Or a Free Republic Fund. $500.00 dollars for every islamic illegal turned over to Marine Inspector.

I like this idea.

[PsyOp]

I thought you might like that. Of course, what you do with them after delivery is at your discretion.... I won't be asking any silly questions.