Two men arrested in missile sting operation
Feds: Defendants were not plotting terrorist violence
 |  Federal authorities raided the Masjid As-Salam mosque in Albany, New York. |
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 New York Gov. George Pataki says the probe took months.
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WASHINGTON, D.C. (CNN) -- An FBI sting operation composed of bogus plans to launder money and attack a Pakistani official led to the arrests Thursday of two leaders in a New York mosque, federal law enforcement officials said.
The suspects are Yasin Aref, a 34-year-old Iraqi who is an imam -- or prayer leader -- at the Masjid As-Salam mosque in Albany, New York, and the mosque's founder, Mohammed Hossain, 49, a U.S. citizen and native of Bangladesh who owns a pizzeria in the city.
Investigators developed the sting operation because they suspected that Aref, who has asylum status, of shipping money from the United States to Islamist radicals overseas, a federal law enforcement source said.
The sting operation involved an informant who had pleaded guilty to felony charges of document fraud and agreed to work with authorities, according to the criminal complaint.
The informant told Aref and Hossain that the money they would launder came from the sale of a shoulder-fired missile that he would use against Pakistan's ambassador to the United Nations in retaliation for Pakistan's support of the U.S.-led war on terrorism, the complaint says.
But no such plot existed, and Deputy U.S. Attorney General James Comey told a news conference, "This is not a case where the defendants were plotting terrorist violence."
Asked whether the two men might have been entrapped, Comey said that was a question for a jury to consider: "Was he dragged into criminal activity to which he was not predisposed, by a government overbearing his will?"
Comey also emphasized that the government had information about the background of the two men that it could not release yet.
"We believe there was ample predication for this investigation," he told reporters.
Law enforcement sources said the men were believed to be connected to Ansar al-Islam, a terrorist organization previously based in northern Iraq with links to the notorious Jordanian terrorist Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. U.S. officials believe al-Zarqawi has links to al Qaeda.
The men are accused of money laundering and conspiring to conceal support and resources "knowing and intending that they are to be used in preparation for, and in carrying out a violation of" a U.S. law banning unlawful use of weapons of mass destruction.
Community support
A federal magistrate ordered both men held without bail pending a hearing Tuesday. Hossain requested his own attorney, and Aref, through an interpreter, said he wanted a court-appointed lawyer.
About a dozen family and friends were in the courtroom, and several cried.
The mosque's president, Shamshad Ahmad, released a statement decrying "all forms of terrorism" and expressing concern about anti-Muslim backlash and hate crimes. He called on people not to draw conclusions from the arrests.
Later in the evening, Faisal Ahmad, a teacher at the mosque, told reporters he served as spokesman for the local Muslim community and that "Muslims condemn terrorism. We don't condone terrorism or violence in any way."
Aref "has nothing to do with violence and terrorism," Ahmad said.
He said the mosque, called House of Peace in English, has been in the community for 10 years, and it is unfair to associate it with evil. "Let us not rush to judgment," he said.
Terror links suspected
The investigation began a year ago, and was conducted by the Joint Terrorism Task Force, which includes federal, state and local authorities.
The informant gave the men thousands of dollars in checks and cash, saying the funds to be laundered were proceeds from the purported importation of a missile and that they could keep some of the money in exchange for their help, according to the complaint.
Comey told reporters the undercover informant struck up a relationship with the two men, and Hossain asked the informant's help in fraudulently securing a New York driver's permit for his brother.
Hossain told the informant that he believed now is not the time for "violent jihad," Comey said.
But when the informant proposed the laundering scheme, Hossain agreed, and suggested that Aref assist, Comey said.
The men received about $40,000 in cash and returned $25,000 in cash, Comey said.
Raids on mosque, homes
Raids of the mosque and two houses started about 11 p.m. Wednesday, a U.S. government official said. They wrapped up just before 6 a.m. Thursday.
Aref's wife, Zuhur, 33, said that the FBI took her and her three children at 2 a.m. to a hotel for questioning. She declined to say what officials asked her about and said she was unaware of what charges her husband faces.
After the charges were described to her, she responded, "I have no idea about that. I don't think so."
Hossain's landlady said Hossain, his wife, and five children have rented their apartment from her for 10 years.
Hossain's wife, Mossammat, told the Albany Times Union that her husband had returned home at 1:30 a.m. from a trip to New York City when the FBI arrived at the couple's apartment above their Little Italy pizzeria.
The newspaper said agents took $6,000 in cash, a computer hard drive and assorted personal records.
Albany Mayor Jerry Jennings said, "It's been an ongoing investigation, and obviously the results are good," he said. "This is something we've anticipated. People shouldn't be concerned because we've been on top of this for quite awhile."
CNN's Kelli Arena, Alina Cho, Terry Frieden, Jeanne Meserve and Richard Roth contributed to this report.
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Associated Press contributed to this report.
