Najibullah Zazi, Queens Suspect, Criminal Complaint and FBI Affidavit

Criminal complaint for Najibullah Zazi, an Afghan-American suspected of ties to Al Qaeda, and his father, Mohammed Wali Zazi. According to the complaint:

[T]he defendant NAJIBULLAH ZAZI traveled to Peshawar, Pakistan from Newark International Airport via Geneva, Switzerland and Dohha, Qatar. ...

On or about September 11, 2009, FBI agents conducted a legally-authorized search of the defendant ZAZI's rental car, which was parked near the Queens Residence. During the search of the car, a laptop computer was found containing a jpeg image of nine-pages of handwritten notes (the "handwritten notes"). The handwritten notes contain formulations and instructions regarding the manufacture and handling of initiating explosives, main explosives charges, explosives detonators and components of a fuzing [sic] system.

According to the complaint, the FBI obtained the passwords to three of Zazi's email accounts, through unspecified means. One of the accounts was "known to law enforcement" prior to the FBI's search of Zazi's laptop. Media reports have said Zazi traveled to an Al Qaeda-linked training camp in the Pakistan-Afghanistan border area, but the complaint does not contain this allegation.

The complaint also says Zazi's father and an individual referred to as "the imam" from New York both warned Zazi that he was under investigation.

"The imam" was an "individual known to law enforcement, whom the NYPD has utilized as a source for information in the past," the complaints state. "The imam" said in a phone call to Zazi:

"I want to speak with you about something . . . I want a meeting with you [and others]. You probably know why I'm calling you for this meeting . . . I was exposed to something yesterday from the authorities. And they came to ask me about your characters. They asked me about you guys....

"I'm not sure if somebody complained about you. I'm not sure what happened. And I don't want to know. They [the authorities] said, 'Please, we need to
know who they are ... what they're all about.' I told them that they are innocent, law abiding. ...

"They [the police] came to the masjid to ask for help. That is a good sign. Trust me that is a good sign. The bad sign is for them coming to you guys and picking you up automatically."

Complaint against Najibullah Zazi

Complaint against Mohammed Wali Zazi

Labels: American-Jihadists, Najibullah-Zazi

Posted by J.M. Berger | Permalink