Men convicted on conspiracy charges

NEW YORK (CMC):

Two Caribbean-born nationals were, on Monday, found guilty of plotting to blow up jet fuel tanks at John F. Kennedy International Airport three years ago.

The jury deliberated for five days before bringing a guilty verdict against Russell Defreitas, a former JFK cargo handler, and Abdul Kadir, once a member of Guyana's parliament.

The two men were convicted on multiple conspiracy charges.

Kadir was however acquitted of one charge, surveillance of mass transportation. But he has maintained his innocence and his lawyer, Kafahni Nkrumah, said he is 'totally disappointed'.

Atmosphere of fear

"There's more than just the evidence Mr. Kadir was coming up against. There's the atmosphere of fear in the country ... of Muslims, Islam and fear of terrorists, especially in New York City," he added.

Defreitas' attorney, Mildred Whalen, said there wouldn't have been a case without the government's intervention.

"I think it was clear these guys couldn't act on their own ... and didn't act on their own," Whalen said, adding "we are deeply disappointed."

Both defendants plan to appeal.

According to the indictment unsealed in 2007, the men along with Abdel Nur, 60, who was extradited from Trinidad and Tobago to stand trial, and Trinidadian Kareem Ibrahim, 59, had hoped to "cause greater destruction than in the September 11 attacks" by using explosives to ignite a fuel pipeline feeding JFK, and to destroy the airport and parts of Queens, where the line runs underground.

'Chicken-Farm' plan

The authorities said the plot, which the men code-named 'Chicken Farm', never got past the planning stages.

Under the plea agreement made public earlier this month, Nur has avoided the possibility of life in prison if convicted. He now faces up to 15 years in prison, prosecutors said.

Ibrahim has been granted a separate trial after he had gone on a hunger strike in prison and became ill. It is now unclear when he would be tried.

Defreitas, a 66-year-old naturalised-U.S. citizen from Guyana, and Kadir, 58, were arrested in 2007 after an informant infiltrated the plot and recorded them discussing it.

Cripple US economy

Prosecutors alleged that the two men wanted to kill thousands of people and cripple the American economy by using explosives to blow up the fuel tanks and the underground pipelines that run through an adjacent Queens neighbourhood. Authorities say the men sought the help of militant Muslims, including an Al-Qaeda operative, in Guyana.

The defendants wanted to set off an explosion "so massive ... that it could be seen from far, far away," Assistant U.S. Attorney Zainab Ahmad said in closing arguments.

The two men shut their eyes when the verdict was read and whispered quietly to their attorneys. During the trial, their lawyers described the two men as clueless trash-talkers who were led astray by the informant, a convicted drug dealer.

Secret recordings

Prosecutors relied heavily on the informant's secret recordings, which captured Defreitas bragging about his knowledge of Kennedy Airport and its vulnerabilities.

"For years, I've been watching them," he said of the fuel tanks while on a reconnaissance mission with the informant.

He also marvelled at the lack of security, saying, "No solider. Nothing at all."

On other tapes, Defreitas ranted about punishing the United States with an attack that would "dwarf 9/11." He told the informant his U.S. citizenship gave him cover.

They don't expect nobody in this country to do something like this. They have their eyes on foreigners, not me," he said.

Kadir testified in his own defence, denying he was a militant Muslim who spied for Iran for years before joining the JFK scheme. He told jurors that he warned the plotters: "Islam does not support aggression or killing innocent people."

As part of the plot, Defreitas and the informant travelled to Guyana to try to meet with Kadir and show him homemade videotapes of the airport's so-called fuel farms. The plotters also discussed reaching out to Adnam Shukrijumah, an Al-Qaeda member and explosives expert who, was believed to be hiding out in the Caribbean at the time.

Shukrijumah, an FBI-most wanted terrorist, was indicted in federal court in Brooklyn this month, on charges he was involved in a failed plot to attack the New York City subway system with suicide bombers.