WASHINGTON (AFP) - US authorities said Thursday they had busted
an arms-trafficking gang, arresting six Asians who had been trying
to smuggle weapons from the United States to Tamil Tiger
rebels.
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Singapore man Haniffa Bin Osman, 55, was the latest person to plead
guilty in the investigation which saw undercover agents track the
alleged arms dealers from the eastern port of Baltimore to the
South Pacific US territory of Guam.
"The disruption of the supply chain of this organization should
reassure the public that the US government is committed to
dismantling terrorist groups worldwide," said FBI special agent
William Chase.
Four Indonesians and Osman have now pleaded guilty to charges
stemming from the investigation, from conspiracy to support a
terrorist organization to attempting to illegally export arms. They
all face significant jail terms.
A sixth person, Sri Lankan Thirunavukarasu Varatharasa, goes on
trial next month on charges of conspiracy, attempting to export
arms, money laundering, and illegal possession of weapons.
"Keeping sophisticated US weapons from falling into the hands of
terrorists has never been more important," said James Dinkins,
special agent for the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement in
Baltimore.
"This three-year undercover investigation ... highlights the reach
and impact of international arms trafficking."
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam are fighting for independence
in Sri Lanka's northern and eastern regions. More than 60,000
people have been killed in the conflict since 1972.
The rebels have been blacklisted as a terrorist organization by the
United States since 1997.
US attorney Rod Rosenstein said Osman had pleaded guilty Thursday
to conspiracy to provide material support to a designated foreign
terrorist organization and to money laundering.
In a statement, the Justice Department alleged that Osman conspired
with two Indonesians to buy 53 military weapons, including sniper
rifles, machine guns and grenade launchers as well as ammunition
and night-vision devices for the Tamil Tigers.
They contacted an undercover business in Maryland to request a
price list and negotiate a deal.
As the sting operation unfolded, Osman met in July with undercover
FBI agents in Baltimore to discuss transferring the arms to Sri
Lanka. He even provided coordinates for delivering the weapons in
the Indian Ocean.
He asked about the cost of unmanned aerial vehicles, and test-fired
several weapons including machine-guns and sniper rifles.
Osman told the agents that if the first order, for some 900,000
dollars of supplies, went smoothly a second one worth 15 million
dollars could follow, according to a Justice Department
statement.
In August some 250,000 dollars was wired from a Malaysian bank to
an undercover US bank account as a down payment for the weapons'
purchase.
Osman then travelled to Guam to inspect the weapons including two
surface-to-air missiles, and a second down payment of 452,000
dollars was made.
Osman was joined in Guam by retired Indonesian general Erick
Wotulo, 60, and they both met with undercover agents to discuss
shipping the weapons to Sri Lanka. They were both arrested in
September in Guam.
"We will use all available legal tools to prevent terrorism,
including undercover operations targeting people who attempt to
obtain military weapons in violation of American law," added
Rosenstein.
The other Indonesians charged in the case are Haji Subandi, 70;
Reinhard Rusli, 34 and Helmi Soedirdja, 33. They along with Wotulo
are all to be sentenced in the coming months. Osman will be
sentenced in June.
http://uk.news.yahoo.com/afp/20070405/tts-us-attacks-singapore-3c8ed92.html
