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Associate of International Arms Dealer Monzer Al Kassar Found Guilty of Terrorism Offenses
Lev L. Dassin, the Acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and Michele M. Leonhart, the Acting Administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), today announced that Tareq Mousa Al Ghazi, 62, an associate of international arms dealer Monzer Al Kassar, was found guilty late yesterday of charges relating to a conspiracy to sell millions of dollars worth of weapons to the Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (the FARC) - a designated foreign terrorist organization - to be used to kill U.S. officers and employees in Colombia.Al Ghazi was found guilty following a two-week jury trial before U.S. District Judge Jed S. Rakoff in Manhattan federal court. According to the superseding indictment and the evidence at trial: Between February 2006 and June 2007, Al Ghazi and Al Kassar agreed to sell millions of dollars worth of weapons to the FARC, including thousands of machine guns, millions of rounds of ammunition, rocket-propelled grenade launchers (RPGs), and surface-to-air missile systems (SAMs). During a series of recorded telephone calls, e-mails, and in-person meetings, Al Ghazi and Al Kassar agreed to sell the weapons to two individuals who were in fact confidential sources working with the DEA. The confidential sources represented that they were acquiring these weapons for the FARC to use in attacks directed at U.S. helicopters in Colombia. Al Ghazi was found guilty of conspiracy to murder U.S. officers and employees; conspiracy to acquire and export anti-aircraft missiles; and conspiracy to provide material support and resources to the FARC, a designated foreign terrorist organization; as well as money laundering. Al Ghazi was found not guilty of conspiracy to murder U.S. nationals. Posted by: ed 2009-03-18 |
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