Ill. Prison Could Be Used For Terror Suspects

A White House official says the Obama administration could buy a prison in northwestern Illinois. to house a limited number of terror suspects from Guantanamo Bay.
The maximum security Thomson Correctional Center is located about 150 miles west of Chicago. It was completed in 2001 but has remained nearly empty due to state budget issues.

Ill. Gov. Quinn issued a statement Saturday saying only that members of the Obama administration will visit to see if Thomson can be put to better use by the Federal Bureau of Prisons.

Quinn is expected to talk about the matter Sunday.

via Ill. prison could be used for terror suspects – 11/14/09 – Chicago News – abc7chicago.com.

Is American The Missing Link In Mumbai Terror Attack?

With the passport of David Headley now apparently confirming his nine visits to India, investigators are now focusing on whether he is the missing answer to last year’s Mumbai terror attacks. Headley was placed under arrest in Chicago last week by the FBI for allegedly conspiring with Lashkar-e-Toiba to launch terrorist attacks in India. Lashkar-e-Toiba is the group blamed for the terrorist attacks in Mumbai last year.

News sources reported on Sunday that Headley was a guest at several of the hotels targeted in the the Mumbai attack and also reportedly pretended to be Jewish, staying at the Chabad center prior to the deadly attack. These reports have not yet been confirmed by U.S. authorities.

The American and Indian authorities are questioning an American citizen of Pakistani descent on suspicion of involvement in last year’s Mumbai terror attacks. Indian media reported on Sunday that the suspect pretended to be Jewish, stayed at the Chabad center and prepared the ground for the lethal attack.

David Coleman Headly (49) was arrested last month at Chicago’s O’Hare Airport while on his way to Philadelphia, and from there to Pakistan. The American Federal Bureau of Investigations suspected he was involved in a plot to carry out an attack in Denmark following the publication of the controversial Prophet Muhammad caricatures.

A deeper look, however, revealed that he was also involved in the Mumbai attacks in November 2008, in which at least 173 people were killed.

Since Headley’s arrest, the US has been investigating his actions along with the Indian authorities. Over the weekend Headley’s role became clear: Indian security sources reported that he was the one who scanned the Chabad center for the Pakistani terror group Lashkar-e-Taiba, which is believed to be responsible for the attacks.

Source

From IBN

CNN-IBN has learnt this after accessing Headley’s passport, which he acquired in March 2006 after allegedly joining the Lashkar-e-Toiba, the group blamed for the terrorist attacks in Mumbai last year.

The passport shows that Headley visited New Delhi, Mumbai, Kochi, Pune, Ahmedabad, Lucknow and Agra between 2006-2009–trips investigators suspect were recces for terrorist attack conspiracies.

Headley, while visiting Mumbai in March 2006, listed Hotel Trident as a place of residence. He stayed at guesthouse near the CST Railway Terminus and he booked a room at the Taj Hotel. The Trident, the Taj, and the CST terminus were three main targets of terrorists during the November 2008 attacks.

Headley visited New Delhi in March 2009 and stayed in two hotels in Paharganj, close to the railway station in the national capital’s historic area. Records show he stayed at Anand Hotel and De Holiday International for three days.

via Source.

2 Chicago Men Charged in Terror Plot Over Muhammad Cartoons

Two Chicago men have been charged in a terrorist conspiracy targeting the facilities and employees of a Danish newspaper that printed cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad.

Read Federal Criminal Complaint

Details From The Chicago Breaking News Center

Terrorism-related charges were filed against two Chicago men today, accusing them of plotting against targets in Western Europe, including “facilities and employees” of a Danish newspaper that printed cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad that sparked riots in the Muslim world.

Charged are David Coleman Headley, 49, and Tahawwur Hussain Rana, 48.

Headley was described as an American citizen who changed his name from Daood Gilani. He was charged with one count of conspiracy to commit terrorist acts involving murder and maiming outside the U.S. and one count of conspiracy to provide material support to the conspiracy, according to a release from the U.S. attorney’s office.

Rana, a native of Canada, was charged with one count of conspiracy to provide material support to a foreign conspiracy involving Headley and three other individuals.

Both men remain in federal custody, officials said.

Since at least late 2008 until he was arrested on Oct. 3, 2009, Headley identified and conducted surveillance of potential targets for a terrorist attack during two trips to Denmark in January and July 2009, according to federal complaints against the two men.

Rana allegedly helped arrange Headley’s travels overseas and conceal their purpose, and discussed potential targets for attack with Headley.

Headley allegedly reported and attempted to report n his overseas surveillance to other conspirators, according to the affidavits, including:

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2nd Chicago Man Tied To Terror Plot

The Chicago Tribune reports that the FBI has arrested a second Chicago man allegedly involved in an international terrorist plot with Western European targets.

The man was taken into custody Oct. 3 before he boarded a flight at O’Hare International Airport to Philadelphia, the first stop on a trip to Pakistan, where he planned to meet people with known ties to terrorist organizations that have carried out fatal attacks that resulted in the deaths of U.S. citizens, a source said. He has not been charged.

After that arrest, dozens of FBI agents from the Joint Terrorism Task Force and the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Oct. 18 raided a Grundy County meat-processing plant that specializes in Islamic foods.

The owner of the plant, Tahawar Hussain Rana, also of Chicago, was arrested at his North Side home the same day as the raid on First World Management Services in Kinsman, northwest of Dwight. Agents seized records from the plant, as well as a related North Side business also raided the same day, said the source, who is familiar with the investigation.

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FBI Raids Slaughterhouse In Ongoing Investigation

Several news reports are circulating in regards to an FBI raid on a Illinois slaughterhouse. Although details are sketchy, there is no indication the raids are in any way connected to terrorism.

We’ve included links to a few of the reports.

Authorities Confirm Raid, No One Taken Into Custody

Federal agents conducted a raid Sunday afternoon at a goat meat processing plant near Morris, Illinois. The secretive operation was led by the Chicago FBI office. CBS 2’s Mike Puccinelli reports that on Monday, the Feds are being very tight-lipped on what they found and why they were even there.

Spokesman Ross Rice confirms agents were at 6260 Kinsman Road, in Kinsman, Illinois. The business is called First World Management. Rice would not say why agents were there but said nobody was taken into custody.

The FBI said the raid began Sunday morning and ended in the late afternoon. They were at the plant about nine hours total.

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From WBBM 780

Federal agents conducted a raid Sunday afternoon at a goat meat processing plant near Morris, Illinois.

The operation was led by the Chicago FBI office.  An agent confirmed for Newsradio 780 they were executing a search warrant at the First World Management plant in Kinsman, Illinois.

Why is a mystery.  A call to the plant was met largely with silence.  We did get confirmation that some items — possibly computers — were seized and that there were no arrests.

Neighbors who saw the raid tell CBS 2 News it was a huge operation, involving more than 100 agents, police officers and even what one believed to be National Guard troops.

One witness said she saw troops carrying M-16 rifles that were trained on a group of men sitting on the ground outside the facility.

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From the Chicago Tribune

Federal agents investigating possible Immigration irregularities conducted raids at a Grundy County meatpacking business and several Chicago locations over the weekend, sources familiar with the probe said Monday.

The FBI’s Chicago office confirmed agents took part in the execution of a search warrant Sunday at a First World Management Services plant in Kinsman, northwest of Dwight. FBI spokesman Ross Rice said no arrests were made there.

But a source said the owner of the plant, which processes lamb and goat, was taken into custody at his home in Chicago.

Documents and records were taken from the plant and from a Chicago travel agency on West Devon Avenue, also owned by the same person, the source said.

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FBI: Uzair Ali Hashmi Made Up Terrorist Encounter Story

A Chicago man has been indicted on charges that he made up a story about being approached and recruited by terrorists. Uzair Ali Hashmi, 20, was indicted Wednesday on three charges of making false statements to the FBI about possible terrorism activity, leading to an investigation that determined it was a hoax, according to a Friday release from the U.S. Attorney’s office.

Hashmi is scheduled to be arraigned at 10 a.m. on Wednesday of next week, before U.S. Magistrate Judge Milton Shadur at the Dirksen Federal Building.

According to the indictment, Hashmi told FBI agents on July 28 that he had been approached by an individual who asked whether he carried a firearm and was proficient with firearms; asked his opinion about “homegrown jihad” in the United States; suggested he join “God’s military;” and asked whether he was familiar with downtown Chicago.

On July 29, according to the indictment, Hashmi told agents a second individual approached him and said he would find something near the trash cans in the alley behind his home. On the same day, the FBI said he gave them a fabricated letter, which read in part:

“[Y]ou are the exact person we have been looking for.”

“Our job here is to carry out ‘the mission’ of giving the nonbelievers what they deserve.”

“You seem to have the drive it will take to inflict damage to where it will hurt most. This is your calling to Jihad my brother. You have a key roles in our Operation.”

“We . . . do not have much time till our operation in completed.”

“We will be in touch with you soon.”

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New Detector Not Much Better Catching Nuke Material

Federal investigators say the government’s next generation radiation detectors are only marginally better at detecting hidden nuclear material than monitors already at U.S. ports, but would cost more than twice as much.

The machines are intended to prevent terrorists or criminals from smuggling into the U.S. a nuclear bomb or its explosive components hidden in a cargo container.

The monitors now in use can detect the presence of radiation, but they cannot distinguish between threatening and nonthreatening material. Radioactive material can be found naturally in ceramics and kitty litter, but would be of no use in making a bomb, for instance.

The Department of Homeland Security has said the new machines it is developing can distinguish between kitty litter and dangerous radioactive material and produce fewer false alarms than the current ones.

The new one are also better at detecting lightly shielded material. But the machines perform at about the same level when detecting radiological and nuclear materials hidden in a lead box or casing, the most likely way a terrorist would try to sneak the materials into this country, the Government Accountability Office said in a report to be released Monday.

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FBI, Joint Terrorism Task Force Raid Chicago Apartment

Very little is being reported on a recent raid that resulted in 2 arrests, in Chicago. A source in federal law enforcement told Fox Chicago that the case is similar to one that unfolded in New York.

Glenda Johnson saw so many police and plain clothed federal agents on her block that she thought someone had been shot.

“The police was so crowded, you couldn’t even walk past. They was in trucks, they was in cars, they was in regular cars. It looked like someone had killed someone,” said Johnson.

That swarm of badges consisted of the FBI, Chicago Police and the Joint Terrorism Task Force. In their sights were two buildings on the 6300 block of North Artesian. People who live in a six flat there say the feds were very interested in its basement, specifically, two storage lockers.

A spokesperson for the FBI confirms a search warrant was executed at the building as part of an ongoing investigation. Glenda Johnson says an FBI agent made the search sound extremely urgent.

“They was looking for someone who lives in this building. So I was like ‘what’s the cause?’ They said ‘we don’t want to say yet, but it’s a life and death situation.’ I was like ‘wow,’” said Johnson.

Source

Jordanian Native Charged With Threatening Jewish Schools

A 24-year-old Chicago man was charged Friday with threatening to set off explosives near Jewish schools in the metropolitan area if Israel didn’t halt military actions in Gaza.

Mohammed T. Alkaramla, a native of Jordan, was ordered held without bond after being his arrest, according to the FBI.

Alkaramla is charged with a felony count of sending an interstate threatening communication and is being held at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Chicago. It was not immediately clear whether he has an attorney.

Authorities allege he sent a letter to the Ida Crown Jewish Academy in Chicago on Dec. 30 claiming that explosives would be set off around the school unless the violence in Gaza stopped by Jan. 15.

“It (sic) very important to make quick action before we make our decisions to set bombs,” the letter reads.

The letter was addressed to rabbis and leaders in the Jewish community and said 22 Jewish educational centers in the Chicago area would also be targeted, according to an affidavit by FBI Special Agent Timothy Lauster.

No explosive devices were planted, and no injuries were reported, the FBI said.

Alkaramla was identified as a suspect after fingerprints found on the letter matched prints taken during a 2003 arrest for possession of marijuana in Chicago, the FBI said.

In a Feb. 12 search of Alkaramla’s home, agents found a laptop containing most of the threatening letter, Lauster said. The day the letter was sent, the laptop had also been used to run Google searches for terms including “Bomb attack + Israel + letters” and “Jewish elementary schools in Chicago.”

Alkaramla has denied writing the letter and told authorities he’s too busy with work, school and family commitments to send threatening letters to anyone, Lauster said.

Source

FBI Releases Pics Of Low-level Suspects in $9m ATM Scam

Hackers orchestrated a highly coordinated, global attack on ATM cards involving the theft of a staggering $9 million from bank customers — and they could strike again, according to an investigation by FOX 5 TV in New York.

Customers’ personal information might also have been compromised in what federal agents are calling one of the most well-coordinated such schemes they’ve seen, MyFOXNY.com reported.

The FBI said it uncovered the plot and is investigating. The alleged hackers are still at large and could orchestrate another attack.

In a matter of hours, thieves struck ATMs from 49 different cities — including New York, Atlanta, Chicago, Moscow and Montreal — just after 8 p.m. EST on Nov. 8, according to the FBI.

Part of the heist was caught on security camera images obtained by the TV station. The photos show people the FBI calls “cashers” — low-level participants in the plot who allegedly used bogus ATM cards with stolen information — at the machines.

The scheme worked as follows: Plotters hacked into a computer system for a company called RBS WorldPay, which allows employers to transfer workers’ pay directly to a payroll card.

The scam artists were then able to infiltrate the system and steal personal data needed to make duplicate ATM cards.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Chicago FBI office at (312) 421-6700.

Full Article and Photos

Unknown Powder Found On Park Slides – Chicago

An unknown powdered substance was dumped down the slides of a Hickory Hills community park, sending two children and two adults to the hospital, a fire official said.

After undergoing a substance-analysis test, with the help of an outside agency, the Roberts Park Fire Protection District was unable to determine what type of substance was “clearly dumped down the slides,” a fire official said.

The fire protection district responded to Prairie View Park, 8200 W. 85th St., about 6:45 p.m. after receiving reports about two different types of powders on the play equipment, the fire official said.

Upon arrival, fire personnel found several paint cans near the play equipment, and two different colored powders, one gray and another brown, on the park’s slides.

The fire official said there was a “considerable” amount of the powder dumped on the slides. A Level 1 HazMat was called for the unknown powdery substance.

Two minors who came in contact with the powdery substance, and two adults that were exposed to the substance, were taken to Palos Community Hospital in Palos Heights as a precaution.