Philadelphia Inquirer, 25 Jan 10: Moussa Ali Hamdan drove a flashy SUV into the Deptford Mall parking lot for the lunchtime meeting. Authorities say that he was there to buy stolen goods, and that he told the seller he wanted bulk quantities of prepaid cell phones, laptops, Sony PlayStations – even cars. Anything that was available. Hamdan didn’t know it, but he was negotiating with an FBI informant on that winter day in 2007. Authorities could have arrested him then, but they suspected Hamdan was a central figure in a terrorist cell in the United States.
The investigation eventually would include dozens of national-security advisers from many federal agencies and stretch from Hamdan’s West Collingswood apartment and Cinnaminson workplace to the crowded streets of Beirut, Lebanon. President Obama and then-Gov. Jon S. Corzine were briefed on the case. Late last year, the investigation led to the indictment of 26 alleged Hezbollah operatives and sympathizers. Sixteen people were arrested, including a Hezbollah weapons-procurement officer. Hamdan escaped to his native Lebanon. Two defendants are scheduled to appear in court tomorrow. “These cases show the breadth of criminal activity engaged by those who oppose us,” U.S. Attorney Michael L. Levy said in a statement.
A review of Hamdan’s activity in New Jersey, nearly a hundred pages of indictments, and conversations with intelligence-community sources with knowledge of the investigation offer a detailed look into what authorities say were the alleged terrorist organization’s U.S. fund-raising and weapons-buying operations. “The indictments are very significant,” said Matthew Levitt, a terrorism expert at the Washington Institute. “Hezbollah has long had financial-support networks inside the U.S., but seeing it laid out in the details of this indictment is nonetheless startling.” . . . .
Four Indicted for Conspiring to Support Hizballah; Six Others Charged with Related Crimes (FBI Press Release, Nov 2009)
CI CENTRE COURSE: An Introduction to Hezbollah: A Top Terrorist Organization
