December 18, 2009
Contact: DEA Public Affairs
(202) 307-7977
Three Al Qaeda Associates Arrested on Drug and Terrorism Charges
DEC 18  - DEA Acting Administrator Michele Leonhart and United States Attorney Preet Bharara announced today the arrests of three individuals for drug and terrorism charges. OUMAR ISSA, HAROUNA TOUR, and IDRISS ABELRAHMAN arrived in the Southern District of New York early this morning to face charges of conspiracy to commit acts of narcoterrorism and conspiracy to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization. The charges stem from the defendants' alleged agreement to transport cocaine through West and North Africa with the intent to support three terrorist organizations  Al Qaeda, Al Qaeda in the Islamic Magreb ("AQIM"), and the Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or "FARC"). All three organizations have been designated by the United States Department of State as Foreign Terrorist Organizations.
The charges in this case mark the first time that associates of Al Qaeda have been charged with narcoterrorism offenses. ISSA, TOUR, and ABELRAHMAN were arrested in Ghana on December 16, 2009, at the request of the United States; thereafter, they were transferred to the custody of the United States and transported to the Southern District of New York. The defendants are expected to be presented in Manhattan federal court later today before United States Magistrate Judge JAMES C. FRANCIS IV.
"Today's arrests are further proof of the direct link between dangerous terrorist organizations, including Al Qaeda, and international drug trafficking that fuels their violent activities," said DEA Acting Administrator Michele Leonhart. "These narcoterrorists do not respect borders and do not care who they harm with their drug trafficking conspiracies. Working with our narcotics law enforcement partners in Ghana and across the globe, DEA is making unprecedented progress in dismantling illicit drug networks in western Africa and around the world, and putting the criminals who operate them behind bars, where they belong."
"Today's allegations reflect the emergence of a worrisome alliance between Al Qaeda and transnational narcotics traffickers. As terrorists diversify into drugs, however, they provide us with more opportunities to incapacitate them and cut off the funding for future acts of terror," said United States Attorney PREET BHARARA. "We will continue to work with our partners at the DEA, in Ghana, and around the world to meet the threat narcoterrorism poses to our national security."
According to the Complaint unsealed today in Manhattan federal court: