Hezbollah Cell Begins Operations in United States
Hezbollah cell leader Mohamad Youssef Hammoud was denied a travel visa by the US embassy in Syria, after which he traveled to Venezuela. After purchasing a forged travel visa, arrived in New York City in 1992. By 1995, Hammoud set up operations in Charlotte, North Carolina, working at a local pizza restaurant. At least two additional members of the Hezbollah Charlotte cell entered the United States with false travel visas from Venezuela purchased for $200, and three had travel visas issued in Cyprus. Half the cell members were born in Lebanon, and the other half were US-born, of Lebanese descent. Early in the spring of 1995, Detective Robert Fromme, working a second job at the tobacco wholesaler JR Discount (in Statesville, North Carolina) observed the cell purchasing massive quantities of cigarettes, paying for them in cash. The cash was usually carried in large grocery bags, containing as much as $20,000 to $30,000 at a time.
Read more about this topic: Operation Smokescreen
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