El Mayimbe
08-12-2003, 08:19 PM
Jesus imagine if someone was succesful at shooting a plane down and this being so close to the 2nd anniversary to 9-11
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The FBI arrested three people Tuesday for allegedly plotting to smuggle a shoulder-launched surface-to-air missile into the United States, government and law enforcement sources said.
The missile was successfully smuggled into a port in New Jersey from Russia, several U.S. government sources said.
FBI agents arrested a British citizen of Indian descent Tuesday afternoon in Newark, New Jersey. Law enforcement sources said he was an independent arms dealer and had sold weapons to al Qaeda in the past.
Authorities also arrested two Afghans who work as gem dealers in Manhattan. The law enforcement sources said they were to be the "money launderers" of the plot, taking care of the cash between the buyer and the seller.
The arrests came at the end of an undercover operation in which U.S. agents posed as terrorists seeking to buy a shoulder-launched missile from the British man, who advertised his ability to buy such weapons, U.S. government sources said.
After the undercover U.S. agents approached the man, he made inquiries in Russia about purchasing a missile, the sources said.
Russian authorities became involved and posed undercover with the U.S. agents in several meetings with the man in St. Petersburg and Moscow, the sources said.
With U.S. approval, the Russians provided the man with a Russian-made shoulder-launched SA-18 missile, several U.S. government sources said. The man arranged for the missile to be shipped to the United States, without explosives, with full knowledge of the United States, the sources said.
While sources could not give a dollar amount for the missile, they estimated it would probably sell for about $100,000 on the open market.
The man arrived over the weekend to complete the cash transaction, those sources said. He was expected to be in court Wednesday around 10 a.m. The FBI in New Jersey plans a news conference for around that time.
Besides the Russians, the British also played a large role in the sting, U.S. government sources said. Search warrants in the case were executed Tuesday in Britain, but it was unclear what they yielded, the sources said.
The Department of Homeland Security estimates there are 750,000 shoulder-fired missiles in the world. They are easy to obtain on the black market. They are portable, easy to use, and inexpensive.
Each missile weighs about 30 to 40 pounds and could fit inside a golf bag, counterterrorism expert Brian Jenkins told CNN.
Failed attempt a 'wake-up call'
A failed attempt in November to shoot down an Israeli charter jet with a shoulder-fired missile as it took off from the airport in Mombasa, Kenya, was a "wake-up call" for U.S. intelligence agencies, several officials said, underscoring the vulnerability of airliners.
The attempt occurred within minutes of an al Qaeda-claimed suicide bombing at a nearby Israeli-owned hotel that killed more than a dozen people, and authorities believe both attacks were coordinated.
The Department of Homeland Security has asked eight government contractors to come up with plans for anti-missile technology that could be put on airliners to prevent a missile strike.
An interagency task force likewise has been assessing additional security measures that can be taken at airports, such as fencing.
"These things [missiles] are effective up to several thousand feet in altitude, and you know the angles at which aircraft approach runways is pretty shallow, so they would be within effective range of these things for several miles before touchdown and for several miles after takeoff," said David Ochmanek of the RAND Corp. think tank.
And during takeoffs and landings, planes often fly over densely populated areas where a shoulder-fired missile could be hidden, Ochmanek told CNN earlier this month.
The Bush administration is trying to stem the proliferation of the missiles by encouraging other nations to better control their inventories and by reinstituting buyback programs in some high-risk countries.
The Department of Homeland Security also has been evaluating about a dozen overseas airports to determine their vulnerability to attacks with shoulder-fired missiles. (Full story)
Assessments have been completed at airports in Athens, Greece, Istanbul, Turkey, and Manila, Philippines, and new security steps have been taken there, the department said. Experts also were looking at Iraqi airports in Baghdad and Basra.
Department officials declined to reveal what other countries were involved, but said they were nations where U.S.-based carriers make frequent flights and countries of strategic interest that were willing to work with the United States.
CNN correspondents David Ensor, Jeanne Meserve, Deborah Feyerick and Kelli Arena and producers Kevin Bohn and Bonnie Berke contributed to this report.
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The FBI arrested three people Tuesday for allegedly plotting to smuggle a shoulder-launched surface-to-air missile into the United States, government and law enforcement sources said.
The missile was successfully smuggled into a port in New Jersey from Russia, several U.S. government sources said.
FBI agents arrested a British citizen of Indian descent Tuesday afternoon in Newark, New Jersey. Law enforcement sources said he was an independent arms dealer and had sold weapons to al Qaeda in the past.
Authorities also arrested two Afghans who work as gem dealers in Manhattan. The law enforcement sources said they were to be the "money launderers" of the plot, taking care of the cash between the buyer and the seller.
The arrests came at the end of an undercover operation in which U.S. agents posed as terrorists seeking to buy a shoulder-launched missile from the British man, who advertised his ability to buy such weapons, U.S. government sources said.
After the undercover U.S. agents approached the man, he made inquiries in Russia about purchasing a missile, the sources said.
Russian authorities became involved and posed undercover with the U.S. agents in several meetings with the man in St. Petersburg and Moscow, the sources said.
With U.S. approval, the Russians provided the man with a Russian-made shoulder-launched SA-18 missile, several U.S. government sources said. The man arranged for the missile to be shipped to the United States, without explosives, with full knowledge of the United States, the sources said.
While sources could not give a dollar amount for the missile, they estimated it would probably sell for about $100,000 on the open market.
The man arrived over the weekend to complete the cash transaction, those sources said. He was expected to be in court Wednesday around 10 a.m. The FBI in New Jersey plans a news conference for around that time.
Besides the Russians, the British also played a large role in the sting, U.S. government sources said. Search warrants in the case were executed Tuesday in Britain, but it was unclear what they yielded, the sources said.
The Department of Homeland Security estimates there are 750,000 shoulder-fired missiles in the world. They are easy to obtain on the black market. They are portable, easy to use, and inexpensive.
Each missile weighs about 30 to 40 pounds and could fit inside a golf bag, counterterrorism expert Brian Jenkins told CNN.
Failed attempt a 'wake-up call'
A failed attempt in November to shoot down an Israeli charter jet with a shoulder-fired missile as it took off from the airport in Mombasa, Kenya, was a "wake-up call" for U.S. intelligence agencies, several officials said, underscoring the vulnerability of airliners.
The attempt occurred within minutes of an al Qaeda-claimed suicide bombing at a nearby Israeli-owned hotel that killed more than a dozen people, and authorities believe both attacks were coordinated.
The Department of Homeland Security has asked eight government contractors to come up with plans for anti-missile technology that could be put on airliners to prevent a missile strike.
An interagency task force likewise has been assessing additional security measures that can be taken at airports, such as fencing.
"These things [missiles] are effective up to several thousand feet in altitude, and you know the angles at which aircraft approach runways is pretty shallow, so they would be within effective range of these things for several miles before touchdown and for several miles after takeoff," said David Ochmanek of the RAND Corp. think tank.
And during takeoffs and landings, planes often fly over densely populated areas where a shoulder-fired missile could be hidden, Ochmanek told CNN earlier this month.
The Bush administration is trying to stem the proliferation of the missiles by encouraging other nations to better control their inventories and by reinstituting buyback programs in some high-risk countries.
The Department of Homeland Security also has been evaluating about a dozen overseas airports to determine their vulnerability to attacks with shoulder-fired missiles. (Full story)
Assessments have been completed at airports in Athens, Greece, Istanbul, Turkey, and Manila, Philippines, and new security steps have been taken there, the department said. Experts also were looking at Iraqi airports in Baghdad and Basra.
Department officials declined to reveal what other countries were involved, but said they were nations where U.S.-based carriers make frequent flights and countries of strategic interest that were willing to work with the United States.
CNN correspondents David Ensor, Jeanne Meserve, Deborah Feyerick and Kelli Arena and producers Kevin Bohn and Bonnie Berke contributed to this report.