Federal Agents Arrest Albanian IS Supporter in New York City

On May 24, 2016, Samjir Alimehmeti, made his first public appearance at the U.S. District court in Manhattan and was charged with providing material resources to the Islamic State (IS), and lying to the federal government so he could get a passport and travel to Syria. District Attorney’s in New York City said that today’s arrest may have prevented a catastrophic terror attack on the city.

The Albanian born Alimehmeti was arrested early Tuesday morning in his apartment by federal agents who discovered an IS flag in his apartment, a passport he claimed to have lost, and $2,400 in cash. Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTP) officers raided Alimehmeti’s apartment after he agreed to help an IS supporter get passage to Syria, but the IS supporter was an undercover operative. The FBI had been monitoring Alimehmeti for the past 18-months after repeated signs of Alimehmeti’s being linked to IS  emerged.

This is not Alimehmeti’s first encounter with law enforcement. In October 2014, Alimehmeti was detained at Manchester Airport when authorities found camouflage gear and nun chucks in his bags. He tried again two months later to make it to the Middle East, but was again detained at Heathrow Airport in London where officials discovered pictures of IS and IED bomb making instructions on his phone. The U.K. immediately sent the materials and images to the F.B.I and also informed them that Alimehmeti was being sent back to the U.S.

The FBI noted that Alimehmeti had spent two years trying to get to Raqqa, Syria, which he called the heart of IS operations. Alimehmeti admitted to authorities that the $2,400 they found was so he could obtain a new passport and name to travel to Syria, because his name was already in the terrorism system. FBI. Agent Manny Gomez noted that it was clear Alimehmeti was going to try something here in the U.S. if he could not make it overseas and fight with IS.

The FBI immediately began putting building a profile on Alimehmeti and sent undercover operatives to pose as IS recruits to befriend him. According to NYPD commissioner Bill Bratton, when Alimehmeti could not make it over to the Middle East and fight with the IS, he undertook to assist those who wanted to travel abroad and fight.

Court documents revealed that Alimehmeti was using the name Andull Qwaii and kept IS videos of beheadings on his laptop and phone. By the summer of 2015, Alimehmeti began stockpiling an assortment of dangerous weapons. Authorities would also find MP3 files with lectures by al-Qaeda official Anwar al-Awlaki.

U.S. Attorney Branden Quigley described Alimehmeti as a dangerous character who had been charged with robbery, assault, battery, and public lewdness. Judge Gabriel Gorenstein ordred that Alimehmeti be held without bail due to his “strong ties to Albania.” Alimehmeti admitted to one of the undercover informants that he along with his brother in Albania had planned to travel to Syria, but his brother was arrested. FBI records found that Alimehmeti’s brother was arrested on weapons and assault charges last August.

Neighbors of Alimehmeti noticed how the “Bronx Kid” who loved hip-hop became indoctrinated, and soon after he disposed of all his fancy clothes, did not to out anymore, and spent Saturday nights at the mosque.  One neighbor noted that in 2013, Alimehmeti disappeared and he assumed he went back to Albania, but when Alimehmeti returned to New York that is when noticed the changes.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Manhattan noted that half a dozen suspected IS supporters have been arrested in the greater New York area since mid-2015. Alimehmeti now faces up to twenty years in prison on terrorism charges and another ten years for passport fraud.