THE U.S. Embassy in Nicosia has been linked to Operation Smoke Screen – an undercover operation to thwart fund-raising operations in the US for the Hizbollah group in Lebanon.
In an affidavit unsealed by the federal court on Friday, it is alleged that a US government official working at the American Embassy had been bribed to issue US visas to some members of a group of 18 people arrested in pre-dawn raids on homes and businesses in North Carolina and Michigan.
The suspects are alleged to have supplied money and night vision devices to Hizbollah by trafficking in contraband cigarettes across state lines, Reuters news agency reported.
They have been charged with conspiracy to violate immigration laws, conspiracy to traffic in contraband cigarettes and money laundering, North Carolina US Attorney Mark Calloway said in Charlotte.
Operation Smoke Screen began 3 1/ 2 years ago as a probe into cigarette smuggling after an off-duty North Carolina deputy sheriff spotted a group of people loading thousands of dollars worth of cigarettes into cars with out-of-state licence plates outside a discount cigarette outlet.
The group allegedly took cigarettes from North Carolina, where taxes are assessed at 5 cents a packet, to Michigan where the tax is 75 cents, and made a profit by selling at the higher price.
Federal agents say a vanload of cigarettes smuggled out of the Carolinas to states where higher taxes are assessed could yield $8,000-$10,000 per trip.
The case evolved into an international investigation based in large part on information from several confidential sources who infiltrated the group, according to the affidavit filed in federal court.
One of those sources told federal agents the group met weekly at the home of the group’s apparent leader, Mohamad Hammoud, or other members to discuss Hizbollah activities and listen to speeches.
The confidential source told federal agents he was present when Hammoud “put aside for Hizbollah several thousand dollars in cash, representing the proceeds from trafficking in contraband cigarettes. The funds to be sent to Hizbollah also consisted of donations solicited and collected by Mohamad Hammoud from individuals who support Hizbollah.”
Described as a ‘designated foreign terrorist organisation’ by the US, the Syrian- and Iranian-backed Hizbollah led the battle against the 22-year Israeli occupation of south Lebanon. The Israeli army withdrew in May.
