Osama's SECRET millions; GARDAI VOW TO FREEZE AL-QAEDA CASH HIDDEN AWAY IN IRISH BANK ACCOUNTS.
Byline: NIALL MOONANMILLIONS of euro belonging to the al-Qaeda terror network are suspected to be flowing through Irish bank accounts, the Irish Mirror can reveal today.
Senior gardai have been tracking the secret funds in recent weeks and will freeze the accounts if they can prove the money is being used for an Osama bin Laden blitz on Europe.
One source said: "There are Islamic extremists and fanatical al-Qaeda-linked cells in Ireland.
"If we can prove they are hiding the money here to wage war on America and Britain, we will seize it."
The cash flow was detected in a co-ordinated operation involving officers from the Garda's Special Detective Unit, the Criminal Assets Bureau and G2, the Army's military intelligence
The source added: "We are trying to find out where this money is going and how it was raised in the first place.
"Al-Qaeda have been fundraising here for years. Ireland was the perfect cover for them."
The Irish Mirror has learned that:
ARMY G2 has been keeping tabs on suspected Islamic extremists for years and monitoring possible al-Qaeda fundraising here;
DOZENS of extremists are thought to have come to Ireland in recent years with plans to attack targets in the UK;
THE heat is being turned up on suspected Middle-Eastern terrorist activities here as more Special Branch detectives have been freed up since the IRA ceasefire.
The discovery of the money is the latest and most significant development in Ireland's fight against terror, which was under way even before the 9/11 attacks on America.
Last summer, US federal prosecutors sought to link an Irish Muslim to an al-Qaeda terror cell in Washington.
Dublin-based Libyan Ibrahim Buwisir was named in a Virginian court which tried 11 men accused of joining an Islamic terror group.
Prosecutors claimed Buwisir's phone number was found in the contact book of Sabri Benkhala, an alleged Osama bin Laden disciple.
Buwisir, 41, had been arrested in November 2001 as part of a Garda probe into suspected fundraising for bin Laden's network in Ireland and into suspected harbouring of terrorists.
He strongly denies any links to Osama Bin Laden or to terrorism.
The source said: "Ireland is being viewed as a safe country in which to get funds together, it's like a launching pad for terrorists.
"Part of the reason is that Ireland is still neutral, is on the edge of Europe and al-Qaeda volunteers are not under as much scrutiny here as they would be in Britain or the Continent.
"Security here is not a patch on what it is in London and other major British cities.
"From Ireland the extremists can also keep a close eye on what's happening in the UK.
"In a way it's almost a repeat of what the IRA did in the 70s and 80s by launching terror attacks on targets in England."
It is believed some of the cash was raised here, but most of it was brought from abroad and lodged in Irish accounts.
The money may not have been discovered at all if it hadn't been for the ceasefire in the North and the easing of surveillance on republicans here.
The source added: "So many Garda detectives have been tied up monitoring homegrown terrorists.
"Others had been assigned to monitor communism, but with its collapse across Eastern Europe that too has become less of a priority.
"As a result more resources have been ploughed into tackling other forms of serious crime, extremist terrorism included.
"At the moment authorities don't know where exactly the money is going, but strongly suspect it of being used to wage a terrorist campaign."
Several al-Qaeda suspects have been under surveillance in Dublin in recent years and have come under even greater scrutiny since the Madrid bombings on March 11.
In 2001, Buwisir, from Balinteer, Dublin, two Libyans and an Algerian were picked up in Tallaght and Ranelagh by Special Branch detectives.
On the same day, Foreign Affairs Minister Brian Cowen admitted to the Dail that bin Laden's brother-in-law had been given an Irish passport.
Officers suspected Buwisir may have been involved in providing active support for bin Laden's terror network from Ireland.
At that stage, detectives said they were "convinced" Irish-based supporters of bin Laden were providing false IDs, cash and safe houses for Islamic terrorists on the run.
Buwisir has lived in Ireland since 1981 and has held an Irish passport since 1991.
However, when the Irish Mirror approached him two weeks before the arrest, he denied any links to bin Laden.
He said: "The Special Branch called to see me last week and asked if I had any connection with bin Laden.
"I told them what I'm telling you - no. I am a committed Muslim and raised money for Muslim causes but I am no terrorist.
"I run the Islamic Relief Agency. We are a registered charity and have a charity number here in Ireland."
One known extremist with Irish links is Hamid Aich, who was arrested in 1999.
He claimed thousands of pounds in disability allowance and social welfare from the state.
Aich lived in South Dublin with his Japanese wife and baby daughter before he skipped the country.
He was arrested by Special Detective Unit officers in December 1999 with four other men in connection with an alleged bomb-making cell in Vancouver.
However, Aich was released without charge. Gardai found drawings of bomb timers during a search of his apartment in Tallaght in 1999.
Detectives also uncovered a list of names which the CIA said were of great interest to them.
Aich is though to have fled Ireland before the 9/11 attacks.
Last month, it emerged one of the men accused of the Madrid bomb had lived and studied in Ireland during the 1990s.
Mohammed Bekkali, 31, was a suspected al-Qaeda sympathiser.
CAPTION(S):
ATTACKS: Al-Qaeda was behind 9/11; WANTED: Osama bin Laden is still on the run after 9/11 but controls a global terror network; EVIL: Osama link to Madrid bombs
 Printer friendly
 Cite/link
 Email
 Feedback
| |
| Publication: | The Mirror (London, England) |
|---|---|
| Date: | Apr 28, 2004 |
| Words: | 998 |
| Previous Article: | SINN FEIN'S pounds 120K FINE. |
| Next Article: | Voice of the Daily Mirror: The battle to put right Trafalgar. |