FBI nets two leaders of mosque in Albany ''missile sting'' operation

0 Comments | Asian Political News, August 9, 2004

NEW YORK, Aug. 5 Kyodo

Two of leaders of an Albany mosque were arrested Thursday for their alleged involvement in a sting operation involving a scheme to buy a shoulder fired missile that was to assassinate a Pakistani official in New York in a fake plot, Justice Department officials said.

''We are working very, very hard to infiltrate the enemy,'' Deputy Attorney General James Comey told reporters at a press conference in Washington.

''Our agents and informants are putting a full-court press on in this country and around the world. Anyone engaging in terrorist planning would be very wise to consider whether their accomplice is not really on of our guys.''

The two men, Yassin Aref, 34, the imam of the mosque, and Mohammed Hossain, 49, the mosque's founder, will have a detention hearing that is likely to be held next Tuesday and both face up to 70 years in prison, as well as fines.

Aref and Hossain are charged with money laundering, conspiracy to commit money laundering and conspiracy to conceal material support for terrorism.

They are also being charged with providing material support to terrorism for their participation in the scheme to help someone, who was believed to be a terrorist, to obtain the missile.

An informant, who was a non-U.S. citizen, first approached Hossain in November 2003 and told him he imported weapons and ammunition from China that were used by Islamic fundamentalists. The informant also told Hossain that he earned $50,000 from the sale of each weapon.

In December 2003, Hossain met again with the informant who then proposed giving him $50,000 to launder on his behalf with the understanding that he would pocket $5,000 from the transaction.

Hossain, who is a naturalized citizen and the owner of a pizza restaurant, apparently had recruited Aref to witness the laundering transaction.

Although Comey would not confirm it, there were reports that the men allegedly also had connections to Ansar al-Islam, a group that has been linked to the al-Qaida terrorist network.

Officials, however, said that the arrests were unrelated to the recent heightened terror alerts on financial buildings in New York, Washington and Newark, New Jersey.

This is the second FBI sting operation involving an attempt to purchase a missile. A British arms dealer was arrested last August in New Jersey and charged with trying to sell a shoulder-fired missile to an undercover agent.