Suspects Held in Narcoterrorism Case

WNYC News | Jul 12, 2010

New York, NY —

Three accused al-Qaida associates charged with plotting to ferry drugs in Africa to raise money for terror attacks have been ordered held without bail in New York. Oumar Issa, Harouna Toure, and Idriss Abelrahman appeared Friday in federal court in Manhattan. The men didn't enter pleas. They were arrested earlier this week in Ghana. Prosecutors say a French-speaking DEA informant recorded the suspects offering to move cocaine through the Sahara desert for $4,000 dollars per kilogram. They allege one claimed the shipments would be protected by al-Qaida. The arrests mark the first time U.S. authorities have captured and charged al-Qaida suspects in a drug trafficking plot in Africa.

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