On April 6, federal agents swarmed an apartment complex in Navy Yard.Tactical teams were deployed. It was a heavy law enforcement action. Was itterrorism? Was there a serial killer on the loose? It was none of thosethings, maybe. It wasn’t a murder, but it was two men with reported ties toPakistani intelligence who were busted posing as federal agentslink.Apparently, these two had kept this ruse up for a couple of years.According to authorities, the two men infiltrated and ingratiatedthemselves among Secret Service and Department of Homeland Securitypersonnel (via WaPolink):
One of two men accused of posing as federal law enforcement employees andingratiating themselves with Secret Service agents had visas for travel toIran and Pakistan, and told others that he had ties to Pakistan’sintelligence service, a federal prosecutor alleged Thursday.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Joshua Rothstein said the government wanted HaiderAli and Arian Taherzadeh — who were arrested Wednesday on charges ofimpersonating federal law enforcement, specifically with the Department ofHomeland Security — held in jail while they await trial, alleging that theyposed a flight risk and possessed firearms.
Taherzadeh, 40, and Ali, 35, were charged in what prosecutors described asa ruse that started in February 2020 and ended only after a postalinspector came across the pair in an unrelated case. Federal lawenforcement officials did not say what motivated the men or what theywanted in return as they, according to prosecutors, “ingratiated themselveswith and infiltrated” Secret Service agents and DHS personnel who lived intheir D.C. apartment building. So far, the men are charged only with “falseimpersonation of a federal officer,” though Rothstein said Thursday thatthe government would probably add a charge of “conspiracy.”
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According to an FBI agent’s affidavit in the case, the men lavished giftsupon members of the Secret Service — including rent-free apartments thatwould cost $40,000 a year, iPhones, surveillance systems, a drone, aflat-screen TV and a generator — and it was not entirely clear what, ifanything, they wanted in return.
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In court, Rothstein said Wednesday’s search of five units in the building —including ones occupied by each defendant — recovered Glock and Sig Sauerpistols; DHS patches, vests and training manuals; binoculars;“sniper-spotting equipment”; and a binder listing the names and addressesof building occupants.
The Secret Service put on leave four employees connected to the case,though the bureau characterized them in court papers as witnesses whoseemed to have been duped by a well-executed ploy.
It’s a long, bizarre tale, but one that has engulfed the Secret Service andDHS in an embarrassing predicament. We don’t know the source of their cashflow yet, but it appears there are quite a few outstanding debts. Was aPakistani intelligence operation just busted in the capital? We’re stillsifting through the details, but it’s also a pretty unsettling story aswell. Those entrusted with our security, with the protection of ourpresident, have been compromised.
Source:link
