Briton Arrested in U.S. in Missile Smuggling Bid

NBC: 2 others arrested in bid to import shoulder-fired missiles

Aug. 12, 2003

The FBI has arrested a British man as part of an international sting operation involving an alleged plot to smuggle shoulder-fired missiles into the United States, authorities said Tuesday. NBC News has learned that two others have also been arrested in connection with the alleged scheme.

Concerns about terrorists’ using lightweight rocket launchers to take down airliners increased in November after a failed attack on a chartered Israeli jet in Mombasa, Kenya.

THE MAN, a British citizen of Indian origin was arrested at an apartment building in Newark, N.J., NBC News’ Pete Williams reported. The man’s name and the charges were not immediately available. Williams reported that two men — one from Afghanistan — were arrested later Tuesday at an office building in New York City’s diamond district.

The arrests were part of a broader investigation by the FBI and British and Russian authorities, said a law enforcement official who spoke on condition of anonymity.

All three are charged with smuggling in a Russian-made shoulder-fired missile. The buyers they dealt with claimed to be terrorists. They were actually undercover federal officials.

U.S. officials say the missile that the smuggling ring managed to sneak into the United States from Russia was actually a dud that was secretly placed into arms-dealing channels by Russian authorities, who were in on the sting.

It was not immediately clear whether the plot was connected to al-Qaida or some other terrorist network. Justice Department officials had no immediate comment on the case.

Officials told NBC News Tuesday night that the arms ring members were not terrorists; they were just out to make money. But investigators said the smuggling suspects clearly knew the buyers expressed intent to use the missile for a terrorist attack.


ERRANT BOATERS AT JFK
The arrest came on the same day it was reported that three young boaters whose raft washed ashore near John F. Kennedy International Airport over the weekend breached security to wander around for a mile near a runway.

Concerns about terrorists’ using lightweight rocket launchers to take down commercial airliners increased in November after an unsuccessful attack on a chartered Israeli jet in Mombasa, Kenya. Officials believe al-Qaida launched the attack, which coincided with a bomb blast at a nearby hotel.


SECURITY CONCERNS
The United States also has sent aviation experts to Iraq and major capitals in Europe and Asia to assess the security of commercial airports. The investigators are determining whether the airports can be defended against shoulder-fired missiles.

World leaders meeting in Evian, France, in June acknowledged the threat and adopted a plan to restrict sales of the weapons.

In the United States, the Homeland Security Department also is asking high-tech companies to propose ways to protect airliners from shoulder-fired missiles.

NBC News’ Pete Williams in Washington, and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

http://www.msnbc.com/news/951575.asp?0cv=CA01 --