'Sting' missile deal

pv vivekanand

HEMANT LAKHANI, a British national of Indian origin,
who is accused of trying to smuggle shoulder-fired
missiles into the US and offering help to obtain a
"dirty bomb" for use by alleged terrorists, has denied
all charges and is scheduled to make his defence
motions in April at a court in New Jersey.
Lakhani, 68, a London resident, was arrested in Newark
in August in a "sting" operation mounted by US,
Brtiish and Russian intelligence. He faces charges of
trying to sell anti-aircraft missiles, offering to
obtain a radioactive "dirty bomb" -- - a rudimentary
device using radioactive materials -- and to procure
anti-aircraft guns, tanks, armoured personnel
carriers, radar systems and C-4 explosives for use by
terrorists.
In the same case, New York diamond dealer Yehuda
Abraham, 75, is charged with money laundering in
connection with the alleged missile smuggling plot,
and Indian citizen Moinuddeen Ahmed Hameed, 38, is
charged with helping to transfer cash for alleged
missile purchases.
Abraham remains free on a $6 million bail. Lakhani and
Hameed remain in US police custody.
No trial date has been set but the accused are asked
to to appear in court on April 26 when therr defence
motions will be heard.
It is expected that it would take several monhs after
April for the trial to start.
He faces up to 25 years in jail if convicted.
The case has raised eyebrows throughout the world
since the operation that led to Lakhani's arrest made
little sense. He is a Hindu by birth and is not
reported to have any "terror" links and trapping him
in an elaborate sting was not seen to have served any
purpose except to serve the American interest of
having to keep alive the image of security threat that
the US is facing.
In formal terms, Lakhani charged with one count of
"attempting to provide material support to
terrorists", one count of unlawful brokering of
foreign defence articles, two counts of money
laundering, and one count of attempting to import
merchandise into the US by means of false statements.
Accounts in the press shortly after Lakhani's arrest
indicated that both ends of the "sting operation" --
the people who offered to arrange the missiles and
other weapons and explosives as well as those who
offered to buy them — were American intelligence
operatives and he was trapped because of he was
desperate for the money that he thought he could make
from the purported deal.
Speculation is that the FBI wanted to use the case in
order to focus world attention on the threat of
shoulder-mounted missiles against aircraft after
unknown assailants narrowly missed an Israeli charter
flight taking off from Mombasa, Kenya.
Another missile missed a US military jet taking off
from Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia.
The sting began when a Federal Bureau of Investigation
(FBI) agent posed as a "Muslim activist" of a Somali
militant group and contacted Lakhani saying he wanted
to buy 50 shoulder-fired anti-aircraft missiles from
Russia.
The agent, who insisted that the missile should be
effective against aircraft and even suggested
St.Petersburg as the possible source for the missiles,
also made a down payment of $30,000 for the purchase
of one missile, according to reports. The total worth
of the deal was said to be $5 million for 50 missiles,
with a 10 per cent "down payment" to be made when a
"sample" missile was shown to the "Somali" militant in
the US.
On the other end, in St.Peterburg, other FBI agents,
in co-ordination with their British and Russian
counterparts, offered to sell Lakhani the missiles. A
Russian arms factory, also working with US
intelligence, then provided Lakhani with a
Russian-made shoulder-launched SA-18 Igla missile. The
weapon was "neutralised" at the source of origin, but
Lakhani did not know that.
The missile was shipped to the US and Lakhani flew to
Newark to "close the deal." That was when he was
arrested, five months after the "sting" was launched.
The key prosecution evidence is expected to a
collection of over 150 audio and video tapes which
purportedly show him offering to sell the missiles and
other weapons and discussing how to best "terrorise"
Americans with them. He is also said to have commented
that he was an admirer of Osama Bin Laden.
"On many occasions in recorded conversations he
referred to... Osama Bin Laden as a hero who had done
something right and set the Americans straight,"
according to US Attorney Christopher Christie.
Lakhani is also shown speaking of of shooting down a
commercial aircraft to "shake the economy" of the US,
according to Christie.
The shipment of one Igla missile — described in
freight documents as medical equipment — was allowed
into the US with the full knowledge and co-operation
of US officials and was stored at a warehouse. When
Lakhani collected the shipment and returned to his
Newark hotel, he was arrested.
A short time later, Yehuda Abraham and Moinuddeen
Ahmed Hameed, an Indian citizen living in Malaysia,
were arrested from Abraham's New York gem dealership
on Fifth Avenue and charged with helping to finance
the deal.