Terror Suspect Arrested in North Carolina
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Filed at 6:41 p.m. ET
DETROIT (AP) -- An alleged leader of a terrorist sleeper cell in Michigan who is believed to be an expert in airport security is in federal custody.
The man, identified in court papers in North Carolina as Abel-Ilah Elmardoudi, 36, of Minneapolis, was accused in an August indictment of acting with ``a covert underground support unit'' and an ``operational combat cell'' for a radical Islamic movement allied with al-Qaida. At the time of the indictment, the man was known only as Abdella.
Federal officials allege Elmardoudi provided direction to three other men charged in the indictment.
Elmardoudi, Karim Koubriti, 24, Ahmed Hannan, 34, and Farouk Ali-Haimoud, 22, were charged with conspiracy to provide material support or resources to terrorists. Koubriti, Hannan and Ali-Haimoud have pleaded innocent. A trial is scheduled for Jan. 21.
The indictment says the men sought to obtain weaponry to benefit operatives overseas and recruit people for violent activity.
Elmardoudi was arrested Nov. 5 in North Carolina and appeared in court there the same day. He was ordered transferred to Detroit for a detention hearing. Federal officials in Detroit said they didn't know when Elmardoudi would arrive.
The indictment says the other suspects knew Elmardoudi as an expert in airport security operations, telephone calling card fraud and falsifying identification.
At a Minneapolis convenience store near one of Elmardoudi's former addresses, store owner Ismaeel Alkhlafea said Elmardoudi came in often to buy cigarettes and other small items.
But Alkhlafea said it's been at least a year since he's seen Elmardoudi. He said Elmardoudi was in trouble because of a phone scam and had called the store collect from jail twice to leave a message for his wife.
``I knew he was in trouble with the law, but I didn't think it was that serious,'' Alkhlafea said.
Court documents in Minneapolis show that a man with a similar name, Abdel-Ilah Elmardoudi, was arrested more than a year ago and charged with stealing telephone calling-card numbers by peering over people's shoulders at the Minneapolis-St. Paul airport.
Over 14 months, more than 790 calling-card access numbers were obtained at the airport and used in calls from places such as Egypt, East Africa, the Philippines, the Middle East and the Balkans, according to a court affidavit.
Minneapolis U.S. Attorney Tom Heffelfinger said that man, who is listed as a citizen of Morocco, disappeared in 2001. Heffelfinger said he believed that man was in federal custody in North Carolina, but would not confirm whether it was the same man facing charges in Detroit.
Koubriti, Hannan and Ali-Haimoud were arrested Sept. 17, 2001, after a raid on a Detroit apartment that yielded a cache of false documents, including visas, and a day planner detailing planned attacks in Turkey and Jordan. A videotape appeared to case U.S. landmarks such as Disneyland in California and the MGM Grand Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas.
It's not clear that Elmardoudi ever lived at the Detroit apartment.
A fifth man, Youssef Hmimssa, was arrested later in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Hmimssa's photo and alias were found among the false documents seized from the Detroit apartment. He also is charged with fraud and misuse of visas.
The indictment alleges the men checked the Detroit airport for gaps in security.
No attacks have been publicly linked to the men.
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