Drug Smuggler Claims He May Have Snuck 9/11 Hijackers into US
By Scott Wheeler
CNSNews.com Staff Writer
May 24, 2004

(CNSNews.com) - An Iranian man recently convicted of drug trafficking, is also suspected of money laundering and smuggling people from Iraq, Iran, Syria and Jordan into the United States. According to federal court documents, Mehrzad Arbane also told a former associate turned government informant in October of 2001 that he "may have smuggled two of the hijackers who flew the planes into the towers in New York on September 11, 2001."

In the shadowy world of terrorist groups and those who enable their activities, it's doubtful that any comprehensive records are kept on the identities of people secreted into the United States, thus the uncertainty over whether Arbani actually did help members of the 9/11 terrorist team.

Arbane was convicted May 13 in U.S. District Court in the southern district of Florida for conspiracy to import 261 kilograms of cocaine into the United States. He is now expected to stand trial in New York for harboring illegal aliens, including two from Iran, according to government officials.

Court documents obtained by CNSNews.com state that Jairo Velez, who "was well known for his ability to smuggle cocaine from Colombia to Mexico and into the United States," met Arbane in 1999 and the two began joint operations to smuggle cocaine into the United States.

But two years later, Velez became a government informant and supplied court testimony to help prosecutors convict Arbane. Velez' motivation, according to the documents, was driven by his nervousness over comments by Arbane about his possible involvement in smuggling two of the Sept. 11 hijackers into the U. S.

"It was at this point that Velez decided to cooperate with U.S. law enforcement," according to the court documents.

The investigation into Arbane's activities continues, but it's unclear how and whether the government is attempting to confirm a link between Arbane and some of the 9/11 hijackers.

The 261 kilograms of cocaine was seized from an apartment in Ecuador that had been rented by Arbane. A three-judge panel in Ecuador tried and acquitted Arbane on drug charges, according to court papers, but when Arbane returned to the U.S., he was arrested and tried in Florida because he and Velez had met in Miami to plan the transfer of the cocaine from Ecuador to the U.S.

Since the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, the U.S. government has become increasingly concerned about certain South American nations harboring terrorist elements.

Seven months after the worst terrorist attacks in American history, Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage made reference to South America while asking the U.S. House Appropriations Foreign Operations Subcommittee for more money to fight the war on terror.

"Ecuador , we believe, we have got in the tri-border area a bit of a problem with al Qaeda itself and some Hezbollah elements. We do need cooperation, and frankly we are afraid as we squeeze Colombia with hopefully the assistance and support of the Congress, that like a balloon, some of the problems might balloon out in other areas. We want to do what we can to try to keep Ecuador from ballooning out," Armitage told House members.

According to the State Department, Hezbollah is "known or suspected to have been involved in numerous anti-U.S. terrorist attacks" and "receives substantial amounts of financial, training, weapons, explosives, political, diplomatic, and organizational aid from Iran and Syria."

Brian Fairchild, a retired CIA operative who is currently with the Higgins Counter-terrorism Research Center based in Arlington, Va., told CNSNews.com that the fact that the drug smuggling operation for which Arbane has been convicted and the alien smuggling operation for which he's been charged contain a Middle East element may be more than mere coincidence.

"We know that terrorist organizations have hooked up with drug trafficking organizations and we have known for some time about the alien smuggling link to terrorism," Fairchild said.

Arbane has not been charged with any terrorism-related crimes but government sources have told CNSNews.com that Arbane's alien smuggling operation was responsible for countless numbers of people who likely would have been flagged had they tried to enter the U.S. legally.

"Even if he is not part of a terrorist organization, he could still be used for their purposes," Fairchild told CNSNews.com .

The revelations about the Arbane case come at a time when the FBI has reportedly notified law enforcement agencies to be on the lookout for suicide bombers who may be inside the U.S. The Bush White House is also reportedly braced for attempted attacks inside America during this presidential election year, especially after bombings at a Madrid train station ended up costing Spain's incumbent administration the election in March.

Fairchild said terrorist organizations are becoming more effective in the ways that they reach the U.S. "We know they are associated with drug smugglers to make money for the jihad - but even more alarming would be if they are piggy-backing on the drug smugglers' networks to facilitate getting their people, materials and possibly even weapons of mass destruction into the country.

"That is a scary force multiplier," Fairchild added.

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