Investigation
On March 21, 2003, he entered a computer shop in Queens, New York and struck up a conversation with the sales clerk about the vastness of the internet, and ended up asking the clerk about finding bombmaking instructions online. The clerk contacted the FBI, sparking an investigation.
On a trip to Florida a week later, Malike boarded a sightseeing vessel in the Port of Miami, and asked Captain John Martin about how close his ship could come to the I-95 bridge above it, where to rent a jet-ski and how close one could come to cruise ships in the area, prompting Martin to contact the Coast Guard with his concerns. The FBI was dispatched and conducted an interview with Malike, who assured them he was just a tourist taking photos with his camera phone, denied having any source of income other than his taxi occupation, left his film with them and was released.
When he returned to New York, he was contacted by the store clerk and directed to undercover agent Todd Renner who posed as an illegal arms dealer. Malike then told Renner that he wanted to purchase five stolen bulletproof vests, night vision goggles, a "half-case of C-4", Viagra, 50 Valium and 50 sleeping pills, and bulletproof-plating and a camera to mount on his car, stating that he needed the equipment to build a gem mine in Afghanistan and would therefore need enough C-4 "to blow up a mountain", a statement widely repeated in media outlets after his arrest.
On April 18, Renner brought him "dummy material" packaged in a wooden crate to look like C-4 and told him it would cost $10,000 for his requested collection. Malike declined and said he didn't have the money nor the space to store the stuff currently.
A month later, Malike phoned Renner and asked him if he could purchase just 100 Valium pills and 50 sleeping pills for $150, and met up with him for a fourth time.
Read more about this topic: Sayed Malike