By Matthew Barakat
McLEAN, Virginia: A Lebanese national who U.S. authorities say
is the ringleader of a vast international drug smuggling ring with links to the
militant group Hezbollah has been indicted on drug and money laundering charges
after allegedly reaping more than $850 million in illicit profits.
The indictment was announced Tuesday in federal court in
Alexandria against Ayman Joumaa, who is currently at large. It alleges he led a
conspiracy that, among other activities, sold nearly 100 tons of Colombian
cocaine to the Zetas drug cartel in Mexico between 2005 and 2007 that was
ultimately smuggled into the United States. The conspiracy has run since at
least 2004 and at times brought in as much as $200 million in a single month,
according to court documents.
Earlier this year, the Treasury Department designated Joumaa as
a drug trafficker and said Hezbollah profited from his network.
Specifically, Treasury accused a major Lebanese bank, the
Lebanese Canadian Bank, of being complicit in Joumaa's money laundering and
turning a blind eye to massive cash transactions. One of the members of
Joumaa's network is a suspected Hezbollah supporter, and bank managers had
links to Hezbollah officials, according to the Treasury Department's findings.
The criminal indictment itself makes no mention of links between
Joumaa, 47, and Hezbollah, which the U.S. government has designated as a
terrorist group since 1997.
The court documents show that Joumaa's network has played a
major role in the global drug trade for years, helping Colombian producers get
their product into the hands of cartels in Central America and Mexico, and from
there into the U.S.
"Money fuels the drug trade, and Mr. Joumaa is alleged to
be at the center of it all - working with those producing the vast majority of
the world's cocaine to get their drugs safely into the hands of Mexican
cartels," said Neil MacBride, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of
Virginia, whose office is prosecuting the case. "Organized crime networks
know no borders, and neither can U.S. law enforcement."
The Drug Enforcement Administration led the investigation.
The Lebanese Canadian Bank was sold to an affiliate of France's
Societe Generale in March to restore confidence after those accusations
triggered concerns in Lebanon that the U.S. would begin targeting Lebanon's
banking sector as a way to exert pressure against Hezbollah. Attempts to
contact the bank for comment were unsuccessful after working hours Tuesday.
Lebanon is a major financial hub for the Middle East and its
banks, like those in Switzerland, have a reputation for secrecy.
The indictment seeks the forfeiture of at least $850 million,
the amount that Joumaa allegedly obtained over the course of the conspiracy,
according to the grand jury.
Peter Carr, a spokesman for MacBride's office, said Tuesday that
Joumaa is at large. Law enforcement officials believe he is Lebanon; it is
unclear whether U.S. officials would be able to obtain his extradition.
It is the second time in recent months that federal prosecutors
in Alexandria have announced charges against major international drug
trafficking rings.
In July,
authorities announced they had taken down a major drug ring that was smuggling
drugs from Ghana through Dulles International Airport near Washington. Most of
those charged in that ring, including the ringleader, were eventually
extradited to the U.S. and are facing trial.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Local-News/2011/Dec-14/156835-lebanese-man-accused-of-leading-drug-ring-indicted.ashx#axzz1gLYPwLIE
No comments:
Post a Comment