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January 17, 2007 (Revised)

ICE and Counter-Terrorism: Selected Investigations

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the largest investigative arm of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), is charged with preventing acts of terrorism by targeting the people, money and materials that support terrorist organizations. In this preventive mission, ICE draws on a diverse set of investigative functions and legal authorities for fighting a wide range of crimes related to immigration, money laundering, smuggling, trafficking, trade violations, and cyber security.

It may often be difficult to prosecute terrorism cases in the absence of an overt act of terrorism. However, waiting for terrorists to act can cost lives. ICE uses every legal tool at its disposal to arrest terrorist suspects on related criminal charges, before they can commit acts of terrorism. ICE seeks to thwart terrorists before they can strike at the United States by drawing on investigative expertise and law enforcement authorities as counter-terrorism tools:

  • Accused Operator of “Terror” Websites Arrested - On August 5, 2004, British authorities arrested Babar Ahmad, a 30-year-old British citizen, in London on an arrest warrant and complaint issued out of the District of Connecticut. The arrest resulted from a three-year investigation led by ICE agents in New Haven, CT, in conjunction with several other federal law enforcement agencies. The U.S. complaint charges Ahmad with conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists; conspiracy to launder money; conspiracy to support the Taliban; and solicitation to commit a crime of physical violence. The complaint alleges that, between 1997 and 2003, Ahmad operated a series of jihadist Web sites, www.azzam.com and www.qoqaz.net, via Internet service providers in the United States . Among other things, the Web sites provided explicit instructions on how to raise and illegally move funds to the Taliban via hawalas and other methods. The site also instructed individuals on how to obtain visas to travel to Afghanistan to fight for the Taliban. In addition, an ICE affidavit filed in the case revealed that British authorities found classified documents in the London home of Ahmad's parents that tracked the movement of a U.S. Navy battle group in the Middle East . The documents described ways in which the ships might be attacked, including via small craft with rocket propelled grenades. Court documents further allege that Ahmad was in electronic communications with a U.S. Naval sailor on board a U.S. destroyer who was sympathetic to his cause. The documents also allege that Ahmad was in touch with several individuals in the United States. The investigation continues And U.S. authorities have requested that the British government extradite Ahmad to the United States to answer the charges.


  • Muslim Leader Admits Role in Plot to Assassinate Ruler of Saudi Arabia - On July 30, 2004, Abdurahman Alamoudi, a prominent Muslim leader in the United States , pleaded guilty in the Eastern District of Virginia to three criminal violations and admitted his role in a Libya-sponsored plot to assassinate Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah. The founder of the American Muslim Foundation and the American Muslim Council, Alamoudi, pleaded guilty to conducting prohibited financial transactions with Libya; making false statements in his application for U.S. citizenship; and violating U.S. tax laws by concealing his foreign bank accounts, concealing his transactions with Libya, and omitting information from tax returns filed by his charities. Alamoudi also agreed to sentencing under the terrorism provision of the federal sentencing guidelines as a result of his participation in a plot by Libyan government officials to kill the de facto leader of Saudi Arabia. According to the statement of facts agreed upon by Alamoudi, he helped recruit Saudi dissidents in London for the assassination plot and facilitated the transfer of hundreds of thousands of dollars from Libya to those dissidents to help finance the plot. The arrest and subsequent indictment of Alamoudi were the result of a long-term investigation by ICE, in conjunction with the FBI and the IRS. Alamoudi faces a potential 23-year prison sentence; seven years supervised release, and revocation of his U.S. citizenship.


  • Charity and Seven of its Leaders Charged With Providing Material Support to Hamas - On July 26, 2004, a federal grand jury in Dallas indicted the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development and seven of its leaders on charges of providing material support to Hamas, a designated terrorist organization. The indictment was the result of a joint investigation by the FBI, ICE, and the IRS under the auspices of the Joint Terrorism Task Force. Among other violations, the Holy Land Foundation and its members were accused of, beginning in 1995, having illegally sent $12.4 million to support Hamas and its goal of creating a Palestinian state by eliminating the state of Israel through violent jihad. During this period, the Holy Land Foundation represented itself as a legitimate tax-exempt organization that funded humanitarian causes in Palestine. The indictment also charged the defendants with engaging in prohibited financial transactions with terrorists, money laundering, conspiracy, and filing false tax returns.


  • Ohio Imam Convicted of Lying About Terror Ties to Obtain U.S. Citizenship - On June 18, 2004, a federal jury in Akron, Ohio, convicted Fawaz Mohammed Damrah of unlawfully obtaining U.S. citizenship through a false application in which he concealed from the U.S. government his membership in or affiliation with 1) the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, a.k.a. the Islamic Jihad Movement in Palestine; 2) the Afghan Refugees Services, Inc., a.k.a. Al-Kifah Refugee Center; and 3) the Islamic Committee for Palestine. The indictment further alleged that Damrah concealed the fact that he had, prior to his application for U.S. citizenship, “incited, assisted, or otherwise participated in the persecution of Jews and others by advocating violent terrorist attacks against Jews and others.” The prosecution and guilty verdict followed the investigation by ICE, the FBI, and the Joint Terrorism Task Force in Ohio.


  • Somali Charged With Providing Material Support to Al Qaeda - On June 10, 2004, Nuradin M. Abdi, a Somali national living in Columbus, Ohio, was charged in a four-count indictment with conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists and to Al Qaeda. Abdi was also charged with fraudulently obtaining and using U.S. immigration and travel documents. The indictment charges that Abdi had fraudulently obtained a U.S. immigration travel document after concealing his planned travels to Africa to obtain military training for violent jihad. Detention documents filed in the case also allege that Abdi conspired with a convicted Al-Qaeda operative to blow up a shopping mall in Columbus, Ohio. The Al-Qaeda operative, Lyman Faris, is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence for providing material support and conspiracy to provide material support to Al Qaeda. ICE agents originally detained Abdi on administrative immigration violations on November 28, 2003. The aforementioned indictment that ultimately resulted Abdi's conviction stemmed from an extensive investigation by ICE, FBI, and Southern Ohio Joint Terrorism Task Force.


  • Material Witness in 9/11 Probe Deported - On May 27, 2004, 26-year-old Mohdar Abdullah, a Yemeni national held as a material witness in connection with the 9/11 terrorist attacks, arrived in Yemen after being deported by ICE officials. Abdullah was arrested shortly after 9/11 and was found to have helped two of the 9/11 hijackers obtain Social Security cards, driver's licenses, and information on flight schools. Abdullah was later convicted of visa fraud and after serving his sentence, was ordered removed from the country.


  • Saudi with Ties to 9/11 Hijackers Arrested - On May 27, 2004, ICE agents in San Diego arrested 34-year-old Hasan Saddiq Faseh Alddin, a Saudi national and U.S. legal permanent resident, on immigration charges resulting from two prior convictions for domestic violence. The arrest stemmed from a Joint Terrorism Task Force probe. In September 2001, Alddin roomed with a close friend of two of the 9/11 hijackers, Nawaf Alhamzi and Khalid al-Midhar. Alddin's roommate departed the country the day before the 9/11 attacks. ICE placed Alddin in deportation proceedings and he has since departed the country.


  • Egyptian Charged with Lying About Ties to Hamas - In May 2004, Soliman S. Biheiri, a 52-year-old native of Egypt, was charged in a federal indictment in northern Virginia with lying to ICE agents about his business and personal connections with Mousa Abu Marzook, a leader of the terrorist group Hamas, and about his dealings with Sami al-Arian, a Florida college professor who has been charged with being a leader of the terrorist group Palestine Islamic Jihad. The charges against Biheiri, which also include allegations that he illegally possessed and used a U.S. passport, resulted from an extensive investigation by ICE, the FBI, and the IRS. Last year in the Eastern District of Virginia, Bihieri was convicted of lying under oath on his application for U.S. citizenship as a result of the joint investigation.


  • Suspected Terrorist Removed to Syria – On January 23, 2004, ICE officials removed 36-year-old Nabil Al-Marabh to Syria after an independent federal immigration judge ruled that Al-Marabh posed a threat to U.S. national security and was associated with a known Jordanian terrorist. An immigration judge found that Al-Marabh was specifically linked to Raed Hijazi, a Jordanian who has been designated as a terrorist by the U.S. government in connection with a bombing plot in Jordan . It was also determined that Al-Marabh had trained and fought with the Mujahideen in Afghanistan.

  • Operation Pipeline: Human Smuggling Arrests in Columbia

    • Operation Pipeline is an investigation of a human smuggling organization based in Bogotá, Colombia involved in the movement of special interest aliens into the United States. In 2002, Panamanian authorities intercepted a member of a human smuggling organization as he attempted to smuggle three Iraqi nationals through Panama en route to the United States. INS, and subsequently, ICE agents, developed evidence against the organization when members provided fraudulent Spanish identity documents to two ICE informants posing as FARC terrorists and later smuggled the informants into the United States.

    On January 3, 2006, following testimony by an ICE agent from the attaché in Bogotá, a grand jury in the Southern District of Florida returned a 16-count sealed indictment against 10 members of the human smuggling organization. Eight of the members are Colombian nationals, one is Venezuelan and one is Palestinian. The indictment included the following charges: material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization (FARC); conspiracy to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization (FARC); alien smuggling, and conspiracy to commit alien smuggling. The ICE National Security Unit has vetted the subjects and found no ties to terrorism.

    On January 26, 2006, Colombian authorities assisted by agents from the ICE attaché in Bogotá and other U.S. government agencies, arrested 22 suspects, including one Colombian immigration inspector. The U.S. is seeking extradition for eight of the suspects; eleven will be prosecuted in Colombia. The remaining three suspects were arrested on probable cause for their involvement in the human smuggling scheme.

    On January 29, 2006, as part of the continuing enforcement actions resulting from Operation Pipeline, the ICE attaché in Bogotá and Colombian authorities arrested the money launderer for the human smuggling organization (one of the ten originally indicted in Operation Pipeline). This individual has extensive worldwide connections that facilitated the laundering of illicit proceeds estimated at over one billion dollars in the last two years. He will be charged with money laundering and material support to a terrorist group.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) was established in March 2003 as the largest investigative arm of the Department of Homeland Security. ICE is comprised of five integrated divisions that form a 21st century law enforcement agency with broad responsibilities for a number of key homeland security priorities.

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