Author: Shri Chidanand Rajghatta
Publications: The Times of India
Date: June 18, 2001
In a huge embarrassment to Pakistan
on the eve of the visit to Washington by its foreign minister Abdul Sattar,
US federal agents have arrested two New Jersey-based Pakistanis for trying
to illegally obtain high-tech weapons, including Stinger missiles and M-47
Dragon anti-tank guided missiles.
Mohammed Rajaa Malik, 52, and Diaa
Mohsen, 57, were among the four men arrested in Florida earlier this week
following a sting operation by US law enforcement authorities soon after
they visited an arms warehouse to inspect the weapons. The two other men,
Kevin Ingram of Jersey City and Walter Kapij from Connecticut, were detained
on charges of conspiracy and money-laundering.
According to reports from Florida
and New Jersey based on the criminal complaint filed by the Bureau of Alcohol,
Tobacco and Firearms (BAFT) in a state federal court, the Pakistani arms
procurers told undercover agents posing as suppliers that they wanted to
put together a deal for 200 Stinger missiles.
They also sought night-vision goggles,
grenade-launchers and Beretta machine pistols. One of the middlemen also
asked about the chances of obtaining components for nuclear weapons.
Reports emerging from Florida and
New Jersey speak of an elaborate cloak-and-dagger operation aimed at netting
the arms merchants. Undercover agents for the BAFT met with Malik and Mohsen
on at least a dozen occasions from December 1998 onwards in Boca Raton,
Fort Lauderdale, New Jersey and New York to discuss the arms deals, shipment
and payments, according to court papers.
During these meetings, Mohsen and
Malik told undercover agents, who were posing as a rogue arms dealers,
that they wanted to purchase missiles and other equipment for a foreign
country. At one point, the men allegedly said the weapons were for a former
foreign military official.
The Pakistani duo was arrested on
Tuesday at a warehouse in West Palm Beach where they had allegedly gone
to inspect a Stinger and other equipment and to collect money. The same
day, Kevin Ingram and Walter Kapij were arrested in a Fort Lauderdale hotel
room on charges of conspiracy and money-laundering.
The investigation into the whole
plot reportedly began in December 1998 after an informer told federal authorities
Mohsen wanted to broker arms deals. In the initial meetings, Mohsen allegedly
said he wanted to buy rocket-propelled grenades, SAMs (surface-to-air missiles),
Stingers and howitzers. The sham agents provided him with brochures and
lists of available weapons.
Wire service accounts from Florida
said in July 1999, Mohsen told them Malik was negotiating with an individual
who wanted arms for an unnamed foreign country.
The next month, the agents took
them to a warehouse where they were shown M-16 assault rifles, nine Stinger
missiles and live military explosives. The agents said the weapons had
been "diverted" from the military and arms makers. Malik and another figure
identified as Abbas posed alongside the Stingers for photographs. A price
of $125,000 to $150,000 per Stinger was offered.
According to the Jersey Journal,
Malik is a native of Pakistan who has lived in Jersey City for at least
30 years and operates several liquor stores in the area. He is said to
be actively involved in local Jersey politics.
The arms scandal comes at a bad
time for Pakistan, which has been desperately trying to live down the image
of a failing state that is a haven for fundamentalists, terrorists, drug
smugglers and sundry international renegades.
Foreign minister Abdul Sattar is
expected here on Monday for talks with Bush Administration officials after
a 36-hour visit to neighbouring Canada where Pakistan suffered further
embarrassment. The Canadian government released a report shortly before
his arrival in which it expressed concern over the activities of "Pakistan-backed
insurgents".
In a 16-page annual report presented
to the parliament, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) referred
to Islamic extremism as "one of the prime sources of terrorism today".
In this context, the report pointed
specifically to the continuing conflict in Kashmir arising from Pakistan-backed
insurgent activity and expressed concern that some of the immigrants would
bring the "politics of conflict" to Canada.
The terrorists are "united in their
commitment to use serious violence to effect political change and are willing
to attack soft targets anywhere in the world," the report said.
In an effort to offset the damage
to Pakistan that such reports and incidents are causing, Sattar is said
to be carrying a letter from "Chief Executive" Musharraf to President George
Bush seeking to present a sober and responsible picture. But in yet another
contretemps, Pakistani papers, quoting officials in Islamabad, disclosed
the contents of the letter even before it was delivered to the White House.
