4 Men Charged in Plot to Bomb Kennedy Airport
New York Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly discussed the foiled plot at Kennedy Airport during a news conference
Federal law enforcement officials and New York City police said today that four people have been charged with conspiring to bomb Kennedy International Airport.
The plan, which was described by United States Attorney Roslynn R. Mauskopf as “one of the most chilling plots imaginable,” involved a former airport worker who is a United States citizen of Guyanese descent and a former member of the Guyanese parliament, who is also an imam.
“Once again would-be terrorists have put New York City in their crosshairs and once again the F.B.I., New York Police Department and other law enforcement agencies have joined forces to stop them,” said Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly.
The former airport worker, Russell Defreitas, was in custody in Brooklyn and was expected to be arraigned this afternoon. The former Guyanese parliament member, Abdul Kadir, and Kareem Ibrahim of Trinidad, were in custody in Trinidad. A fourth man, Abdel Nur, of Guyana, was still being sought, law enforcement officials said.
If convicted, the men could face a maximum sentence of life in prison.
Two senior law enforcement officials said that there was no imminent threat to the airport and that the men had yet to obtain any explosives. They had conducted surveillance and the former airport worker had made several trips to Guyana and one trip to Trinidad and Tobago to try to get support for the plot.
But if the plan had become operational, it could have been calamitous. “The devastation that would be caused had this plot succeeded is just unthinkable,” Ms. Mauskopf said in a news conference today.
Law enforcement officials said the men’s ambition had been to detonate fuel tanks at the airport, thereby exploding fuel pipes running beneath the terminals.
“Not only were we concerned about the fuel farm,” Commissioner Kelly said, “we were concerned about the 40-mile fuel line that runs from Linden, New Jersey, through Staten Island, through Brooklyn and Queens.
“It is indeed the feeding tube that nourishes national and international commerce at J.F.K. and La Guardia airports.”
Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg issued a statement saying: “The fact that plotters conspired to plan an attack on John F. Kennedy Airport is another reminder that in today’s world we face constant threats from people who want to take away our freedoms and destroy our way of life. Working together, NYPD and other local and federal law enforcement agencies have been on top of this unfolding plot for months, and they deserve our thanks and praise. This plot was only in its planning stages and at no point was anyone in imminent danger. New Yorkers should be comforted that the layers of safety provided by counterterrorism officials stopped these individuals before they could do any harm to our way of life.”
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