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CNN Live At Daybreak

Three People Arrested in Alleged Smuggling Scheme

Aired August 13, 2003 - 06:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: As if air travel isn't nerve wracking enough, an alleged arms dealer will be in court today, accused of trying to sell a shoulder-fired missile to terrorists. Two other men suspected in the alleged plot have a separate court appearance.
The arrests came yesterday, after a year-long undercover investigation involving the United States, Russia and Great Britain.

U.S. intelligence officials tell us there is no indication of a specific or imminent threat to U.S. commercial aircraft from those terrorists with the shoulder-fired missiles.

Our Deborah Feyerick is following this case. She'll be in the courtroom following the developments there. She joins us live by phone from Newark.

Good morning -- Deborah.

DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol.

Well, the alleged arms dealer, Hekmat Lakhani, is scheduled to be in court at about 10:00 this morning. This is an initial appearance. The charges he is facing include weapons smuggling and material support of terrorism.

Sources tell us that he is a British national of Indian descent. He has, according to sources, sold weapons in the past to al Qaeda, but our sources tell us that this was not part of an overall terrorist plot; that he is an independent arms dealer.

Now, law enforcement sources say that the surface-to-air missile was loaded on a ship in Russia. It was smuggled into an East Coast port. Law enforcement sources tell us that it was delivered as part of this major undercover sting. That missile, which was shipped inoperative -- that is, without explosives -- is now in FBI custody.

Authorities say that the man arrived in the U.S. over the weekend. He was arrested yesterday afternoon. He was apparently in town to complete the deal and get paid for shipping this missile.

Two other men also were arrested. They were arrested in New York. They are gem dealers. Our sources are telling us that they are money launderers; that they were helping the cash transaction between the buyer and the seller.

That's what we know so far. The FBI and the U.S. attorney in New Jersey here in Newark are expected to have a press conference after the initial appearance, so that should be late mid-morning -- Carol.

COSTELLO: And I know, Deborah, a lot of this stuff is on tape, a lot of the alleged attempt to buy this shoulder-fired missile is on tape, right?

FEYERICK: Exactly. We are being told that some of these transactions were videotaped. And on the tapes, apparently, the man, Hekmat Lakhani, is seen making statements against the United States and in support of Osama bin Laden.

COSTELLO: Yes, and we were reading the New Jersey "Star-Ledger" this morning, and this is what it describes that's on one of those tapes. This is from the New Jersey "Star-Ledger" again. It says: "It was unclear last night whether Lakhani had any direct links to al Qaeda, but the evidence against him is expected to include audio or videotapes in which he speaks favorably of the group's leader, Osama bin Laden. In one conversation, he allegedly praises bin Laden for a 'good thing,' referring to the September 11 attacks. And on another tape, Lakhani allegedly tells his buyer that 'Americans are bastards'."

So, I don't know if we'll ever get to hear those tapes, but they will be quite interesting.

Deborah Feyerick, I'm going to let you get to work, because I know it's early for you. Thanks for joining us on DAYBREAK.

There are so many facets to this story. There is that British connection that Deborah talked about, so let's check that out too.

Live to London and Diana Muriel.

Diana -- what more do we know about Hekmat Lakhani?

DIANA MURIEL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, very little, Carol. I can add one piece of information to what Deborah has already told our viewers: That Scotland Yard has conducted a series of raids in London. It's believed that Lakhani is based in London, not necessarily in central London.

We haven't been given any details about the locations of these raids or the details as to why these particular premises have been raided. But there have been a series of raids. The evidence from that will be collated together with the other evidence that the FBI is collecting.

Scotland Yard is directing journalists' inquiries to the FBI. It seems that they are going to be conducting their investigations under the aegis of the FBI and not as an independent body.

So, we do know that -- Carol.

COSTELLO: And I would suspect that reporters are converging on the neighborhood where this guy lived.

MURIEL: That's right. I mean, there are various locations which have been out there. Various journalists, of course, are looking up telephone directories et cetera. But we haven't had confirmation from any of those locations that they are, in fact, correct.

There is very little known about Lakhani, although he is understood to be a well-known arms dealer and actively involved in this industry -- Carol.

COSTELLO: So, he really managed to fly under the radar there in Britain. Interesting. Diana Muriel reporting live from London for us this morning.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.






Aired August 13, 2003 - 06:30   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: As if air travel isn't nerve wracking enough, an alleged arms dealer will be in court today, accused of trying to sell a shoulder-fired missile to terrorists. Two other men suspected in the alleged plot have a separate court appearance.
The arrests came yesterday, after a year-long undercover investigation involving the United States, Russia and Great Britain.

U.S. intelligence officials tell us there is no indication of a specific or imminent threat to U.S. commercial aircraft from those terrorists with the shoulder-fired missiles.

Our Deborah Feyerick is following this case. She'll be in the courtroom following the developments there. She joins us live by phone from Newark.

Good morning -- Deborah.

DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol.

Well, the alleged arms dealer, Hekmat Lakhani, is scheduled to be in court at about 10:00 this morning. This is an initial appearance. The charges he is facing include weapons smuggling and material support of terrorism.

Sources tell us that he is a British national of Indian descent. He has, according to sources, sold weapons in the past to al Qaeda, but our sources tell us that this was not part of an overall terrorist plot; that he is an independent arms dealer.

Now, law enforcement sources say that the surface-to-air missile was loaded on a ship in Russia. It was smuggled into an East Coast port. Law enforcement sources tell us that it was delivered as part of this major undercover sting. That missile, which was shipped inoperative -- that is, without explosives -- is now in FBI custody.

Authorities say that the man arrived in the U.S. over the weekend. He was arrested yesterday afternoon. He was apparently in town to complete the deal and get paid for shipping this missile.

Two other men also were arrested. They were arrested in New York. They are gem dealers. Our sources are telling us that they are money launderers; that they were helping the cash transaction between the buyer and the seller.

That's what we know so far. The FBI and the U.S. attorney in New Jersey here in Newark are expected to have a press conference after the initial appearance, so that should be late mid-morning -- Carol.

COSTELLO: And I know, Deborah, a lot of this stuff is on tape, a lot of the alleged attempt to buy this shoulder-fired missile is on tape, right?

FEYERICK: Exactly. We are being told that some of these transactions were videotaped. And on the tapes, apparently, the man, Hekmat Lakhani, is seen making statements against the United States and in support of Osama bin Laden.

COSTELLO: Yes, and we were reading the New Jersey "Star-Ledger" this morning, and this is what it describes that's on one of those tapes. This is from the New Jersey "Star-Ledger" again. It says: "It was unclear last night whether Lakhani had any direct links to al Qaeda, but the evidence against him is expected to include audio or videotapes in which he speaks favorably of the group's leader, Osama bin Laden. In one conversation, he allegedly praises bin Laden for a 'good thing,' referring to the September 11 attacks. And on another tape, Lakhani allegedly tells his buyer that 'Americans are bastards'."

So, I don't know if we'll ever get to hear those tapes, but they will be quite interesting.

Deborah Feyerick, I'm going to let you get to work, because I know it's early for you. Thanks for joining us on DAYBREAK.

There are so many facets to this story. There is that British connection that Deborah talked about, so let's check that out too.

Live to London and Diana Muriel.

Diana -- what more do we know about Hekmat Lakhani?

DIANA MURIEL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, very little, Carol. I can add one piece of information to what Deborah has already told our viewers: That Scotland Yard has conducted a series of raids in London. It's believed that Lakhani is based in London, not necessarily in central London.

We haven't been given any details about the locations of these raids or the details as to why these particular premises have been raided. But there have been a series of raids. The evidence from that will be collated together with the other evidence that the FBI is collecting.

Scotland Yard is directing journalists' inquiries to the FBI. It seems that they are going to be conducting their investigations under the aegis of the FBI and not as an independent body.

So, we do know that -- Carol.

COSTELLO: And I would suspect that reporters are converging on the neighborhood where this guy lived.

MURIEL: That's right. I mean, there are various locations which have been out there. Various journalists, of course, are looking up telephone directories et cetera. But we haven't had confirmation from any of those locations that they are, in fact, correct.

There is very little known about Lakhani, although he is understood to be a well-known arms dealer and actively involved in this industry -- Carol.

COSTELLO: So, he really managed to fly under the radar there in Britain. Interesting. Diana Muriel reporting live from London for us this morning.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.