Terrorist plan 'more destructive than 9/11' [Archive]

Patagoniamaniac

Jun 02, 2007, 02:27 PM

Terrorist plan 'more destructive than 9/11'
02/06/2007 - 22:09:32

A suspected terrorist cell planned a "chilling" attack to destroy New York's John F Kennedy International Airport, kill thousands of people and trigger an economic catastrophe by blowing up a jet fuel artery that runs through residential neighbourhoods, US authorities said tonight.

Three men were arrested and one was being sought in Trinidad today.

In an indictment charging the four men, one of them is quoted as saying the foiled plot would "cause greater destruction than in the September 11 attacks," destroying the airport, killing several thousand people and destroying parts of the Queens borough, where the line runs underground.

One of the suspects, Russell Defreitas, a US citizen native to Guyana and former JFK employee, said the airport was a symbol that would put "the whole country in mourning.

"It's like you can kill the man twice," Defreitas said, according to the indictment.

The plot never got past the planning stages. It posed no immediate threat to air safety or the public, the FBI said today.

"The devastation that would be caused had this plot succeeded is just unthinkable," US Attorney Roslynn R Mauskopf said at a news conference, calling it "one of the most chilling plots imaginable".

Defreitas was in custody in Brooklyn and was expected to be arraigned later today.

Two other men, Abdul Kadir of Guyana and Kareem Ibrahim of Trinidad, are in custody in Trinidad. A fourth man, Abdel Nur of Guyana, was still being sought in Trinidad.

The pipeline, owned by Buckeye Pipeline Co., takes fuel from a facility in Linden, New Jersey, to the airport. Other lines service LaGuardia Airport and Newark Liberty International Airport.

Kadir, a Muslim and former member of Parliament in Guyana, was arrested in Trinidad for attempting to secure money for "terrorist operations", according to a Guyanese police commander.