Link explored between alleged counterfeiters, al-Qaida terrorist

Kim Smith

Thursday, July 25, 2002 | 9:35 a.m.

While federal authorities in Detroit revealed Wednesday they have more evidence linking Omar Shishani to terrorists, authorities here said they have still found no connection between Shishani and seven men indicted locally on counterfeiting charges.

"We're just pursuing our investigation like we normally would," said Lee Fields, the acting special agent in charge of the U.S. Secret Service in Las Vegas. "Until we finish our investigation here we won't know how or if it correlates with Detroit's case."

Last week authorities announced Shishani, who they allege has ties to the al-Qaida terrorism organization, was arrested at Detroit Metropolitan Airport carrying $12 million in phony cashier's checks drawn from a West America Bank in Pomona, Calif.

In June seven men were indicted by a federal grand jury in Las Vegas on charges of passing counterfeit checks from the same bank branch, which doesn't exist.

Jimmy Leung, Aziz Massomipour, Asatour Magzanian, Jaman Khan, Mohammad Nadery, Hans Walton and Henry Davis were arrested at the MGM Grand on June 12.

On Wednesday federal prosecutors in Michigan filed court documents stating why they believe Shishani should remain in custody until his trial on counterfeit check possession charges.

Prosecutors alleged that in addition to the counterfeit checks, Shishani was carrying a piece of paper on which several verses of the Quran were referred to in Arabic. Each of the verses spoke of martyrs and apocalyptic events.

One of the verses, translated, says "When we decide to destroy a population we (first) send a definite order to those among them who are given the good things of this life and yet transgress; so that the word is proved against them: then we destroy them utterly."

In addition, the prosecutors said Shishani said the payee on the checks, a business associate of his, Baharuddin Masse, may belong to al-Qaida.

Shishani also had in his address book the phone number of a friend of Muhammad Zaki, who is believed to have been the first American Muslim killed in Chechnya.

FBI Special Agent Daron Borst concurred with Fields, saying the investigation into any possible links between Shishani, al-Qaida and the seven Nevada defendants continues.

"We just have to explore it further," Borst said. "We have to investigate the source of the checks. It may be an independent third party who's supplying the checks."