Posted on 09/22/2002 10:21:11 PM PDT by BCrago66
Crown Chicken Eyed by Feds in Al Qaeda Funds Probe Restaurant Owner Charged With Offering To Launder Drug Money
BY COLIN MINER
Heroin dealers and money launderers who may be connected to Al Qaeda terrorists are using a Brooklyn fried chicken company as a front for their activities, senior law enforcement officials say. The nearly year-long investigation by the Joint Terrorist Task Force of the FBI and NYPD is being directed by the office of the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York.
It has resulted in the arrest of at least one man who conspired to sell heroin to an undercover agent — and offered to launder money for him — according to a complaint filed in the case.
The company at the center of the investigation, Crown Fried Chicken, also known as Afghan Food and Paper, is located on Morgan Avenue in Brooklyn. The companies supply food and products to restaurants such as individual Crown Fried Chicken outlets, and similar fast food places.
In addition to examining the financial records of the company, agents have been conducting surveillance and working undercover at individual Crown Fried Chicken franchises in New York City and elsewhere.
Investigators are trying to determine how widespread and organized the heroin ring is, as well as how much money is being sent back to Afghanistan.
Repeated attempts to reach company officials to comment on the allegations were unsuccessful. A secretary at the company’s office refused several times to even take a message for company officials.
Christopher Sowers, a lawyer who helped set up the company and still represents some of the principals, described the allegations as “ridiculous. I can’t imagine they are true.”
FBI officials have characterized the investigation as “one of the most important being run out of our New York office,” according to a law enforcement official familiar with the probe.
In fact, sources told The New York Sun, the FBI considers the probe so important it has convinced law enforcement agencies conducting parallel investigations — one of which had even convened a grand jury and subpoenaed financial records — to step out of the picture.
The investigation started nearly a year ago after agents linked a financial transaction involving the company and an overseas account maintained by an Al Qaeda member, officials familiar with the probe said.
By February, the FBI had obtained enough information to include both Crown Fried Chicken and Afghan Food and Paper Products on a list circulated around the world of people, companies and organizations whose finances were being examined as part of an investigation into Al Qaeda’s finances.
One official cautioned there is a low threshold for making that list.
The task force made its first arrest in the investigation just last month, with the work of an undercover agent assisted by a confidential source.
While charges against Abdul S. Azratzada, the owner of the Crown Fried Chicken restaurant at 25-02 Queens Plaza South, are still pending, a complaint against him filed in Manhattan Federal Court charges he conspired to sell heroin, and offered to launder money through his restaurant.
Mr. Azratzada, who is being held in the Manhattan Correctional Center without bail, wanted to sell the undercover agent 15 kilograms of heroin, which he referred to as “15 pieces of chicken” in a taped telephone conversation, according to the complaint.
In a follow up meeting, Mr. Azratzada told the undercover agent “he could launder narcotics proceeds through his chicken restaurant,” according to the complaint. “Azratzada indicated he has done this in the past. The undercover told Azratzada that he was interested, and Azratzada and the undercover agreed on a 4% to 5% fee per money laundering transaction.”
Messages for Mr. Azratzada’s lawyer, Michael Obregon, were not returned.
One official familiar with the probe described the arrest as “the proverbial tip of the iceberg.”
Investigators are quick to point out that they do not suspect every Crown Fried Chicken or related franchise is involved in heroin trafficking or money laundering. But, they say, there are enough connections that the investigation is moving ahead on several fronts in several cities.
Mr. Sowers said the allegations don’t make any sense.
“These people came here with nothing in their pockets and opened restaurants where no one else would go,” he said. “They should be praised for their efforts.”
Mr. Sowers said that Crown — which was started in 1989 —has grown from a couple of restaurants to more than 600 around the country.
A spokesman for the United States Attorney for the Southern District declined to comment, as did spokesmen for the FBI and New York Police Department.
But law enforcement officials told the Sun they are concerned about the Afghan heroin connection because some of the profits are believed to be going to support terrorism.
“Drug traffickers have a symbiotic relationship with terrorists,” the assistant attorney general for the criminal division, Michael Chertoff said at a conference organized by the Justice Department earlier this year.
Last year, an estimated 2,200 pounds of heroin from Afghanistan — worth approximately $260 million — reached the United States, according to the Drug Enforcement Agency.
“The involvement of Al Qaeda in the illicit heroin trade has been clearly established,” according to Raphael Perl, a narcotics specialist with the National Academy of Sciences and Congressional Research Service. “While the United States military operations in Afghanistan have disrupted their access to the source of the drugs, they still play an active role in money laundering and protecting the traffic.”
The disclosure of the probe comes on the heels of several reports assessing the American war on Osama bin Laden’s finances and whether those efforts have been enough to disrupt the organization.
A recent United Nations report concluded that despite recent efforts, Al Qaeda is still financially sound.
“A large portfolio of ostensibly legitimate businesses continue to be maintained and managed on behalf of Osama bin Laden and Al Qaeda by a number of, as yet, unidentified intermediaries and associates,” the report said. “Estimates put the value of this portfolio at around $30 million.”
The chairman of the panel that put together the report, Michael Chandler, said Al Qaeda’s strong financial position shows how much of a threat they remain.
“We cannot overstate the risks posed by Al Qaeda,” Mr. Chandler said. “Nor should we understate the complexity of the task of cutting off its funding.”
I didn't eat at that particular store in Queens Plaza, no.
On another subject, this is not quite explosive, but still a big story. Stories like this may provide a boost to the little NYSun.
The best pizza in our area used to be sold at a place managed by a man from the Middle East. He and his wife were pretty friendly. They and their children went home to visit his family about 2 years ago, and haven't returned.
I'm very happy that the coverage seems to be improving. It's a small paper, but I would buy it if it were only 4 pages thick, because it presents a point of view that needs to be heard.
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