U.S. officials say they have broken up a plot to bomb the intricate fuel system feeding John F. Kennedy airport, one of that nation's busiest airfields.
"One of the most chilling plots imaginable," said U.S. Attorney Roslynn R. Mauskopf on Saturday.
"The enforcement action that we're announcing today was taken to prevent the terrorist plot from maturing into a terrorist act," said FBI Agent Mark Mershon.
Agents arrested three people and seek another in connection with the plot.
Instead of targeting planes or terminals, the plot allegedly set out to bomb a 65-kilometre pipeline that carries fuel from a Linden, N.J. facility to the airport. Other similar fuel lines from Linden supply LaGuardia Airport and Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey with fuel.
"This once more underscores the fact that New York City is very much at the top of the terrorist target list," New York City Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said Saturday afternoon at a news conference.
He said the fuel line runs through Staten Island, Brooklyn and Queens.
"It is indeed the feeding tool that nourishes national and international commerce at JFK and LaGuardia," Kelly said.
The alleged ring leader of the plot has been identified as 63-year-old Russell Defreitas, an American citizen originally from Guyana who previously worked at JFK. Kelly described Defreitas as a "self-radicalized" Islamic extremist.
Officials quoted him as saying such an attack would "put the whole country in mourning" because "it's like you can kill the man twice."
Police had been watching the suspects for 17 months. They outlined the actions the alleged militants took.
"Surveillance that included physical surveillance, photographic surveillance, video surveillance, even the use of the Internet to obtain satellite photographs of the JFK facility," Mershon said.
Although a skeptic might say that could mean taking a few pictures and checking Google, Mershon said it went much further.
"They took extensive measures to seek expert advice, finances, and explosives," he said.
The suspects did not obtain explosives.
"They never got to the point of actually building a bomb, so the threat wasn't significant. And even if they had blown up the oil terminal, the damage would not have been great," said Richard Clarke, a former top federal counterterrorism official.
Mauskopf begged to differ, saying, "The devastation that would be caused had this plot succeeded is just unthinkable."
Mershon said, "The bottom line is we believe this threat has been fully contained."
The other suspects
Other suspects include:
- Abdul Kadir, a citizen of Guyana who was also apprehended in Trinidad, served in Guyana's parliament and as a local mayor.
- Kareem Ibrahim, a citizen of Trinidad, who was also arrested in that country.
- A fourth suspect from Guyana, Abdel Nur, who is still at large in Trinidad and is considered a fugitive.
All men have deep ties to the Caribbean -- a characteristic that sets this terror plot apart from others, Kelly said.
Authorities claim the men are motivated by hatred of the U.S. Israel and the West.
Kadir and Nur were longtime associates of a Trinidadian radical Muslim group, Jamaat al Muslimeen, they said.
Kadir's wife Isha told AP: "We have no interest in blowing up anything in the U.S.. We have relatives in the U.S."
Mershon, the head of the FBI's New York office, said the group was committed to its cause.
Investigators said they first learned about the plot in January 2006. Shortly afterwards, an informant infiltrated the group.
"This was the ultimate hand-and-glove operation between NYPD and FBI," said U.S. Rep. Peter King, a Republican from Long Island.
Police have broken up other alleged terrorist plots in the New York City area in the past year:
One year ago, seven men were arrested in what was described as the early stages of a plot to blow up the Sears Tower in Chicago as well as FBI offices.
One month later, a plot was broken up to bomb underwater tunnels in New York to flood lower Manhattan.
One month ago, six people were arrested in a plot to unleash rampage in Fort Dix, New Jersey.
With a report from CTV's Tom Walters and files from the Associated Press
