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Missile deal draws a light term
Man who found himself on the edge of a terror plot gets time served
BY KATE COSCARELLI
Star-Ledger Staff
06/07/05 "Star-Ledger" - - After the criminal defense lawyer and the government prosecutors gave their legal spiels, the criminal, wearing jailhouse scrubs and shackles at his wrists and ankles, stood up to address the judge.
At his sentencing yesterday in federal court in Newark, Moinuddeen Ahmed Hameed, who was snagged on the periphery of a plan to sell missiles to terrorists, made a heartfelt appeal in very plain terms to the federal judge.
"Please send me home," he said. "If we had known of this plot I would have alerted the authorities myself."
Hameed deliberately involved himself in a crime, conspiracy to operate an illegal money-transmitting business that he pleaded guilty to, but didn't know of the missile deal, said Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian Howe.
"His role, nevertheless, was important to the overall success of the venture," said Howe, who went on to ask the judge to minimize the sentence because of the minor role Hameed played and the cooperation he provided.
Judge Katharine Hayden obliged as much as she could. She sentenced him to time served and waived fines, saying that "fully satisfies" the court.
Hameed came to the United States two summers ago to do a favor for his brother, a money-changer in London, and hopefully get the rights to open a Ben & Jerry's ice cream shop.
His brother, Zubair, asked him to temporarily halt his plans to open a restaurant in Malaysia and come oversee a payment between two clients. What Hameed didn't know was that the clients in the deal were an undercover FBI informant posing as a terrorist and Hemant Lakhani, an arms broker from London.
An associate of the arms broker asked Hameed's brother to arrange a money transfer from New York to overseas. Hameed has said neither he nor his brother knew Lakhani. The transaction Hameed was to witness was in August 2003 when the informant promised to pay $500,000 for 50 missiles.
Hameed, 41, whose wife and three children live in his native India, was arrested Aug. 12 shortly after Lakhani met the informant in an Elizabeth hotel to complete the arms deal. Federal agents quickly realized he knew nothing of the missile plot.
Lakhani was convicted of terrorism charges at a trial this spring.
Since his arrest, Hameed has been in jail.
Despite yesterday's sentence to time served, Hameed was not set free, much to the disappointment of a family friend who came to court hoping to arrange a flight for him back to India. After the hour-long hearing, he was returned to Hudson County jail.
Hameed has agreed to deportation and will now be transferred to the custody of federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement, said Cathy Fleming, Hameed's attorney. An immigration judge must still rule on the deportation request.
"Hopefully, they will move it quickly," Fleming said. "His family has suffered, he has suffered."
© 2005 NJ.com.
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