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FBI Sting Traps Alleged Hizbullah Weapons Dealer
Reported: 08:30 AM - Nov/24/09    http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/Flash.aspx/175123

(IsraelNN.com) The Federal Bureau of Investigation in the United States disclosed on Monday that it arrested an alleged arms dealer for Hizbullah for trying to buy Stinger missiles and machine guns for "the Resistance" in Lebanon. Dani Nemr Tarraf, a 39-year-old with residences in Lebanon and Slovakia, allegedly planned to ship the missiles and the guns to Syria or Iran. He was ordered held without bond until a hearing Dec. 7.

Tarraf - along with three other dual residents of Slovakia and Lebanon, one from Lebanon and one from the US state of Georgia,  was arrested as a result of a two-year undercover terrorism investigation of a ring that allegedly shipped stolen goods to ports in Beirut, Casablanca, Dubai and Hong Kong. Tarraf was the only arrest specificly linked to weapons.

 

 

Arab-Linked US Ring Tried to Smuggle Weapons to Israel’s Enemies
by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu    Kislev 7, 5770 / November 24, '09    http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/134594

(IsraelNN.com) American authorities have busted a ring of six men, most of whom have Arab and Muslim names, for allegedly trying to smuggle anti-aircraft missiles and machine guns to Iran or Syria for use by the terror “resistance.”

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) arrested and charged Hassan Mohammad Komeiha, originally from Lebanon, and Dani Nemr Tarraf, after Tarraf arrived in Philadelphia to examine weapons he planned to ship to Israel’s enemies. Three other members of the ring are still at-large, two of them overseas.

The smuggling ring developed from Komeiha’s original link with an undercover FBI agent who sold him laptop computers, cell phones and PlayStation game consoles which Komeiha believed were stolen.

'Take down an F-16'
During the two-year investigation, the defendants raised the ante from computer games to night vision camera lenses and then to missiles and rifles. Tarraf specifically asked the undercover agent if he could supply him with guided missiles that could "take down an F-16."

The US-made F-16 fighter jet is a central component of several advanced air forces, including those of Israel and the USA. 

Tarraf, Komehai’s boss and who was identified as having residences in Lebanon and Slovokia, was charged with conspiracy to buy and ship anti-aircraft missiles and machine guns. Tarraf’s associate was his brother Douri Nemr Tarraf, both of whom wired tens of thousands of dollars to the undercover agent for the goods they bought.

Authorities refused to state whether any of the defendants were connected with a terrorist organization, but both Iran and Syria are described by the United States as countries that support terror.