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  • Terror plot foiled at JFK airport

    PanARMENIAN.Net

    Terror plot foiled at JFK airport
    04.06.2007 14:05 GMT+04:00

    /PanARMENIAN.Net/ Four men have been charged and three arrested with
    conspiring to blow up jet fuel supply tanks and pipelines at John
    F. Kennedy International Airport.

    Homeland Security sources said there is no current threat at the
    airport and the attack as planned was "not technically feasible."

    The alleged plot did not target airplane flights, officials said.

    The alleged plotters targeted the airport because of the popularity
    its namesake, John F. Kennedy, who was assassinated in 1963.

    "Anytime you hit Kennedy, it is the most hurtful thing to the United
    States. To hit John F. Kennedy, wow ... they love JFK - he's like the
    man," former JFK airport cargo worker Russell Defreitas allegedly said
    in a telephone conversation monitored by the FBI.

    "If you hit that, this whole country will be in mourning. It's like
    you can kill the man twice," Defreitas allegedly added.

    At a Justice Department news conference Saturday afternoon, the
    plotters were described as "a determined group" whose signature was
    persistence.

    A law enforcement source told CNN Saturday evening that the idea for
    the plot allegedly came from Defreitas, who also apparently recruited
    the other men. Those three supposedly directed the effort.

    Defreitas, 63, a native of Guyana who has been a U.S. citizen since
    the 1960s, was arrested in Brooklyn, New York, according to the
    Justice Department. He was arraigned Saturday in federal court in New
    York.

    Abdul Kadir of Guyana, a former member of the Guyana parliament, and
    Kareem Ibrahim of Trinidad, are in custody in Trinidad. The United
    States will seek their extradition.

    The fourth suspect, Abdel Nur of Guyana, is being sought.

    Defreitas was once a contractor for the aviation company Evergreen
    Eagle, a law enforcement official told CNN. James Nelson, a company
    spokesman, said the firm is cooperating with authorities, but declined
    to provide further information.

    Defreitas identified targets and escape routes and assessed airport
    security, the complaint alleges. Officials said the "defendants
    obtained satellite photographs of JFK airport and its facilities from
    the Internet and traveled frequently among the United States, Guyana
    and Trinidad to discuss their plans and solicit the financial and
    technical assistance of others."

    Suspects compared the plot with 9/11 in wiretapped remarks, CNN
    reports.
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