Green Energy
D'UH indeed. Tie this in with Epaminondas' story below. Fox news put this together 2 YEARS AGO. And intel is just telling us NOW they're a homeland security threat ?
Smoke Scree: Hezbollah Inside America
Also, from Fox April of this Year:
Cigarette Smugglers Funnel Money to Terror Groups, Report Finds
By Catherine Herridge
Cigarette smuggling is generating millions of dollars every year that can be reaching terrorist groups, including Hezbollah, Hamas and Al Qaeda, according to law enforcement sources. In a single case, $100,000 was sent to Hezbollah.
A 15-page report congressional report, obtained by FOX News, includes intelligence from law enforcement as well as New York State’s Department of Taxation and Finance.
The report reads in part: Cigarette smuggling is generating millions of dollars every year that can be reaching terrorist groups, including Hezbollah, Hamas and Al Qaeda, according to law enforcement sources. In a single case, $100,000 was sent to Hezbollah.
“This is a very serious homeland security issue, one that has gone unnoticed for far too long,” said Rep. Peter King, (R-N.Y.), the ranking member of the House Homeland Security Committee, who called for the investigation.
“Cigarette smugglers are able to generate millions of dollars in illegal profits with a great deal of this wealth being sent to terrorist groups overseas – groups that would like nothing more than to inflict devastating harm on our country and its citizens.”
One of the key issues, according to the report, is a potential flaw in New York State policy. According to King’s office, there is a policy in the state of “forebearance,” or refusing to collect on sales of Native American tax-free cigarettes to non-Native Americans.
Critics of the policy say it has effectively created a safe haven for smugglers. In some cases, the report says, a well-organized operation can buy cigarettes tax-free on New York’s Indian reservations and sell them at a great profit in the New Yock City area, generating up to $300,000 per week with a loss of up to $576 million in tax revenues to New York State.
According to the report, citing federal and New York state law enforcement sources, nearly 60 percent of all convenience retail outlets in New York City are now Arab-owned, primarily families of Lebanese, Yemeni, Jordanian and Palestinian descent. While the vast majority of retailers are operating above board, some are not.
The report says that these retailers can funnel their profits from the sale of cigarettes to terrorist groups in the Mideast. It claims this “tobacco and terror” relationship has been found in a handful of recent cases.
“…the infamous ‘Lackawanna Seven’ reportedly received funding from an individual named Aref Ahmed for their travel from Buffalo to Afghanistan to attend an al Qaeda training camp,” the report says, referring to a group of American-born men of Yemeni descent who pleaded guilty to terror training.
“The State is losing hundreds of millions of dollars in tax revenue; and given the current budget shortfall, this would seem to be more than enough reason to put the so-called policy of forebearance out of its misery,” King said.
“But this is more than just a matter of lost revenue. It is a matter of national security. Cigarette smuggling in New York State must be brought to an end immediately.”
Hearings dealing specifically with the report are scheduled this Thursday in Washington before the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism and Homeland Security.
===========
Yeah, A Homeland Security Threat. No shit, fellas. Maybe ya wanna read the blogs a little more.
-
INN: Report: Hizbullah Laundered Drug Money in US Banks The Hizbullah terrorist organization is in trouble for laundering hundreds of millions of dollars in drug trafficking revenues in US banks. The Hizbullah terrorist organization is in hot water over...
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Obama and Napolitano decide to slash New York anti-terrorism funds 11 days after Times Square bomb try WASHINGTON (NY Daily News) - The Department of Homeland Security decided Wednesday to go through with cuts to New York anti-terrorism funding,...
- Islamic Terrorist Cells Forming In America
From this posting at Islam In Action: Hezbollah Expected To Be A Major Threat By 2014 By David Bedein, Middle East Correspondent Published: Thursday, January 22, 2009 Jerusalem — Hezbollah could be one of the first security challenges faced by the new...
- Nyc Subway Terror Threat
Just in time for the holidays. Again. Americans may be getting complacent but shouldn't. Stay safe, stay vigilant. Fox says the info came from a "walk-in" who sat in on the meeting when the threat was discussed by Al Qaida: From Fox News FBI Warns...
- Storm Track Infiltration: Long Rumored, Now Fact – Jihadis Crossing Our Border
From The Gathering Storm Thanks to the investigative reporting of Fox News correspondent William Lajeunesse, the monarchs of the media and the potentates on the Potomac can no longer ignore the reality of potential jihadis crossing our southern boarder....
Green Energy
Smoke Screen: Hezbollah Inside America (video fixed)
D'UH indeed. Tie this in with Epaminondas' story below. Fox news put this together 2 YEARS AGO. And intel is just telling us NOW they're a homeland security threat ?
Smoke Scree: Hezbollah Inside America
Also, from Fox April of this Year:
Cigarette Smugglers Funnel Money to Terror Groups, Report Finds
By Catherine Herridge
Cigarette smuggling is generating millions of dollars every year that can be reaching terrorist groups, including Hezbollah, Hamas and Al Qaeda, according to law enforcement sources. In a single case, $100,000 was sent to Hezbollah.
A 15-page report congressional report, obtained by FOX News, includes intelligence from law enforcement as well as New York State’s Department of Taxation and Finance.
The report reads in part: Cigarette smuggling is generating millions of dollars every year that can be reaching terrorist groups, including Hezbollah, Hamas and Al Qaeda, according to law enforcement sources. In a single case, $100,000 was sent to Hezbollah.
“This is a very serious homeland security issue, one that has gone unnoticed for far too long,” said Rep. Peter King, (R-N.Y.), the ranking member of the House Homeland Security Committee, who called for the investigation.
“Cigarette smugglers are able to generate millions of dollars in illegal profits with a great deal of this wealth being sent to terrorist groups overseas – groups that would like nothing more than to inflict devastating harm on our country and its citizens.”
One of the key issues, according to the report, is a potential flaw in New York State policy. According to King’s office, there is a policy in the state of “forebearance,” or refusing to collect on sales of Native American tax-free cigarettes to non-Native Americans.
Critics of the policy say it has effectively created a safe haven for smugglers. In some cases, the report says, a well-organized operation can buy cigarettes tax-free on New York’s Indian reservations and sell them at a great profit in the New Yock City area, generating up to $300,000 per week with a loss of up to $576 million in tax revenues to New York State.
According to the report, citing federal and New York state law enforcement sources, nearly 60 percent of all convenience retail outlets in New York City are now Arab-owned, primarily families of Lebanese, Yemeni, Jordanian and Palestinian descent. While the vast majority of retailers are operating above board, some are not.
The report says that these retailers can funnel their profits from the sale of cigarettes to terrorist groups in the Mideast. It claims this “tobacco and terror” relationship has been found in a handful of recent cases.
“…the infamous ‘Lackawanna Seven’ reportedly received funding from an individual named Aref Ahmed for their travel from Buffalo to Afghanistan to attend an al Qaeda training camp,” the report says, referring to a group of American-born men of Yemeni descent who pleaded guilty to terror training.
“The State is losing hundreds of millions of dollars in tax revenue; and given the current budget shortfall, this would seem to be more than enough reason to put the so-called policy of forebearance out of its misery,” King said.
“But this is more than just a matter of lost revenue. It is a matter of national security. Cigarette smuggling in New York State must be brought to an end immediately.”
Hearings dealing specifically with the report are scheduled this Thursday in Washington before the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism and Homeland Security.
===========
Yeah, A Homeland Security Threat. No shit, fellas. Maybe ya wanna read the blogs a little more.
-
INN: Report: Hizbullah Laundered Drug Money in US Banks The Hizbullah terrorist organization is in trouble for laundering hundreds of millions of dollars in drug trafficking revenues in US banks. The Hizbullah terrorist organization is in hot water over...
-
Obama and Napolitano decide to slash New York anti-terrorism funds 11 days after Times Square bomb try WASHINGTON (NY Daily News) - The Department of Homeland Security decided Wednesday to go through with cuts to New York anti-terrorism funding,...
- Islamic Terrorist Cells Forming In America
From this posting at Islam In Action: Hezbollah Expected To Be A Major Threat By 2014 By David Bedein, Middle East Correspondent Published: Thursday, January 22, 2009 Jerusalem — Hezbollah could be one of the first security challenges faced by the new...
- Nyc Subway Terror Threat
Just in time for the holidays. Again. Americans may be getting complacent but shouldn't. Stay safe, stay vigilant. Fox says the info came from a "walk-in" who sat in on the meeting when the threat was discussed by Al Qaida: From Fox News FBI Warns...
- Storm Track Infiltration: Long Rumored, Now Fact – Jihadis Crossing Our Border
From The Gathering Storm Thanks to the investigative reporting of Fox News correspondent William Lajeunesse, the monarchs of the media and the potentates on the Potomac can no longer ignore the reality of potential jihadis crossing our southern boarder....