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Wednesday 13 August 2003
Missile plot arrests
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The FBI has arrested two more men for reportedly trying to bring a Russian missile into the United States and sell it to terrorists. A British citizen had already been arrested. The FBI says that the man wanted to make money and that they do not know of any plan to attack the President's plane, Air Force One. This report from Justin Webb: |
Listen to the story
The identities of the three arrested men and the precise charges they will face are still not known but all three are due to appear in court [today] in Newark, New Jersey, and all three appear to be linked to an alleged plot to sell a Russian surface-to-air missile to terrorists.
The first man to be held - said to be a British arms dealer - was reportedly arrested when he met undercover FBI agents posing as terrorists wanting to buy the weapon. The other two suspects were picked up at a New York gem dealership.
The weapon itself was said by FBI sources to have been supplied by the Russian secret service, which co-operated in the sting operation. The missile they shipped to America had been modified so that it couldn't work.
FBI officials also stressed that, although the arms dealer might have boasted that he could supply a weapon capable of downing Air Force One, they were aware of no specific plot to attack that or any other aircraft.
Listen to the words
identities
who people are; names and other details about them
charges
official statements that accuse someone of a crime
alleged
not yet proved to be true
surface-to-air missile
weapon sent from the ground into the air, which explodes when it reaches a target
arms dealer
someone who buys and sells weapons
undercover FBI agents
secret investigators for the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation, which looks into crimes that break a national law or put the country in danger
suspects
people thought to be guilty of a crime
gem dealership
a business that buys and sells precious stones or jewels, for example diamonds
sting operation
undercover police using a clever secret plan to catch criminals
downing
bringing down, causing to fall
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