Terror Plot "One Of The Most Chilling Imaginable"

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POSTED: 10:45 am EDT June 2, 2007
UPDATED: 3:07 pm EDT June 2, 2007

NEW YORK -- As first reported by NewsChannel4's Jonathan Dienst, three people were arrested and one other was being sought Saturday in connection to a plot to blow up jet-fuel lines at John F. Kennedy International Airport, officials said.

Four people have been charged. Three suspects are in custody: Russell Defreitas, Kareem Ibrihim and Abdul Kadir. Another suspect, Abdul Nur is still at large.



Defreitas is to be arrainged Saturday in Brooklyn on terror conspiracy charges.
Sources said Defreitas, a former cargo worker at JFK allegedly began to plot attacking the US last July or August. Defeitas sought help in carrying out a plan and went to an FBI informant, who gathered information about the plot.

U.S. Attorney Roslynn R. Mauskopf called it "one of the most chilling plots imaginable."

"The devastation that would be caused had this plot succeeded is just unthinkable," she said at a news conference.

Defreitas is a U.S. citizen with roots in Guyana.

Kadir, a former member of Parliament in Guyana, was arrested in Trinidad for attempting to secure money for "terrorist operations," according to a Guyanese police commander who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Kadir, a Muslim, left his position in Parliament last year. Muslims make up about 9 percent of the former Dutch and British colony's 770,000 population, mostly from the Sunni sect.

Sources said counter-terrorism officials have been following the plot for a little less than one year.

Sources said the plot involved a plan to blow up a Buckeye jet-fuel pipeline at JFK setting off a potential massive explosion. Buckeye provides fuel to all three NYC-area airports.

Buckeye spokesman Roy Haase said the company, which moves petroleum through pipelines in a number of states, had been informed of the threat from the beginning.

"Given the nature of Buckeye business and the importance of this transportation network, we have an intense and ongoing communications relationship with the Port Authority, the New York City fire and police departments, the federal Department of Homeland Security and the FBI," he said.

Sources said the plot involved putting explosives inside the fuel pipeline but realized that "it was not technically feasible."

Officials said the plot may also have included plans to hit the JFK terminal buildings and aircraft, in addition to the fuel lines.

In discussing JFK airport as a target, Defreitas exulted over JFK airport’s symbolic importance, according to a U.S. Justice Department complaint:

"Anytime you hit Kennedy, it is the most hurtful thing to the United States. To hit John F. Kennedy, wow .... They love John F. Kennedy like he’s the man .... If you hit that, this whole country will be in mourning. It’s like you can kill the man twice. "

In a later recorded conversation with his coconspirators in May 2007, Defreitas compared the plot to attack JFK airport to the attacks on the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001, stating, “even the Twin Towers can’t touch it,” adding that, “this can destroy the economy of America for some time.”

Sources said the planning stages of the plot involved surveillance of JFK airport as well as scouting out US properties in Guyana for possible attacks.

Aviation officials said there is no major threat to air travel related to this plot since it was caught in the developmental stages.

One law enforcement official said: "[There was] credible intent to commit violence but it was not operational."

Officials said the suspects never got hold of explosive devices.

"This was the ultimate hand-and-glove operation between NYPD and FBI," said U.S. Rep. Peter King, a Republican from Long Island.

The arrests mark the latest in a series of alleged homegrown terrorism plots targeting high-profile American landmarks.

A year ago, seven men were arrested in what officials called the early stages of a plot to blow up the Sears Tower in Chicago and destroy FBI offices and other buildings.

A month later, authorities broke up a plot to bomb underwater New York City train tunnels to flood lower Manhattan.

And six people were arrested a month ago in an alleged plot to unleash a bloody rampage on Fort Dix in New Jersey.

Stay with WNBC.com for the latest on this developing story.

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