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Monday December 3, 2007       Free Headline Alerts

Detroit resident indicted over attempted transfer of GPS tech to Hizbullah

WASHINGTON — The United States has determined that Hizbullah used Americans to procure advanced military technology for the Iranian-backed militia in Lebanon.

Federal prosecutors have indicted a Detroit resident on charges of attempting to deliver global positioning systems and night-vision goggles to Hizbullah. The resident, Fawzi Assi, has pleaded guilty in federal court of seeking to help a group deemed terrorist.

"Anyone who gives money, technology or other material support to any terrorist organization will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law," U.S. Attorney Stephen Murphy said.

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Officials said Assi was believed to have been one of dozens of Arab-Americans recruited to provide Hizbullah and Iran with advanced U.S. military equipment, Middle East Newsline reported. They said Hizbullah ordered off-the-shelf equipment from its agents and had them shipped through Europe or Asia for delivery to Lebanon.

Assi, who faces 10 years, sought to ship GPS and night-vision systems to Hizbullah in 1998. An engineer with Ford Motor Co., he confessed to purchasing two GPS kits from Boeing as well as night-vision goggles and a thermal-imaging camera.

Prosecutors said Assi had planned to personally deliver the items to Hizbullah in Beirut. But he was stopped as he attempted to board a flight from Detroit to Lebanon.

Shortly after his arrest in July 1998, Assi fled to Lebanon. Six years later, he returned to the United States and surrendered to authorities as part of a plea bargain arrangement.

"This collective work prevented the illegal exporting of licensable technology and military items to a designated terrorist organization." FBI special agent Brian Moskowitz said.

Officials said Hizbullah agents were also helping Iran acquire components for U.S.-origin fighter-jets purchased in the early 1970s. Congress has passed a bill that would ban the sale of F-14 components, said to be a priority of the Teheran regime.



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