A former Orange County cab driver convicted in 2013 of supporting terrorists in his home country…
A former Orange County cab driver convicted in 2013 of supporting terrorists in his home country of Somalia was turned over to authorities in the city of Mogadishu on Tuesday by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers, authorities said.
Ahmed Nasir Tahlil Mohamud, 41, formerly of Anaheim, was flown on commercial flights escorted by two Los Angeles-based ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations deportation officers, Lori Haley, an ICE spokeswoman in Santa Ana, said in a statement.
ICE agents flew with Mohamud as far as Narobi, Kenya where he was placed on a nonstop flight to Mogadishu and met by Somali law enforcement officials at Aden Adde International Airport.
Mohamed and three conspirators were convicted for conspiring to send money to al-Shabaab, a terrorist organization that engaged in suicide bombings, explosives and assassinations to undermine Somalia’s government.
He had been labeled a terrorist by authorities in February 2008. According to the indictment, the case involves several 2008 transfers of money from San Diego to Somalia totaling $10,930.
Mohamud collected money from donors in Orange County to support al-Shabaab. He was sentenced in U.S. District Court to six years in prison.
In March 2014, ICE officers filed an immigration detainer against Mohamud while he was incarcerated at the Federal Correctional Institution in Lompoc, Haley said.
Mohamud was placed in ICE custody in February following his release from prison and was ordered to be removed from the U.S. the following month by an immigration judge in Los Angeles.
“Becoming a lawful, permanent resident of the United States is a privilege,” said David Marin, deputy field office director for ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations in Los Angeles. “ICE will move aggressively against those who engage in actions that could potentially harm those responsible for safeguarding the very freedoms that privilege affords.”
Department of Homeland Security databases show Mohamud had became a permanent U.S. resident in August 2004.
Marin said it isn’t common for Los Angeles-area ICE officers to repatriate terrorists.
“To get someone providing material support to terrorists and then to get them back to their home country is huge for us,” he said.
Nationwide, ICE repatriated 351 individuals in fiscal year 2015 who were classified as high-profile removals.
Of that number, 274 were wanted for crimes committed overseas, often for a serious or violent nature; 20 were classified as human-rights violators; and 54 were considered national-security threats.
The investigation into Mohamud was conducted by various agencies including the FBI, ICE, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
Writer: @thechalkoutline
Source: ocregister.com
