Beefed-up indictment returned in Dix case

Tuesday, January 15, 2008


By RENEE WINKLER
Courier-Post Staff

CAMDEN
A federal grand jury today returned a beefed-up indictment against five foreign-born men awaiting trial on charges of plotting to kill military and civilian personnel at Fort Dix and other government installations.

The superseding indictment specifically charges the five with attempting to murder members of the U.S. military. It also adds several specific steps to the conspiracy charges against Mohamad Ibrahim Shnewer, Dritan Duka, Eljvir Duka and Shain Duka, all of Cherry Hill, and Serdar Tatar of Philadelphia.

The charges carry possible life prison terms.

A sixth man initially arrested and charged in the conspiracy, Agron Abdullahu of Atlantic County, the only naturalized citizen involved in the alleged plot, pleaded guilty to providing weapons to the other five men.

Illegal immigrant status of the five bars them from possessing firearms.

The attempted murder charge spans Jan. 3, 2006, through May 7, 2007, the day the suspects were arrested. All six are still being held without bail.Charges of possessing and attempting to possess firearms add the make and serial number of four machine guns and three semi-automatic rifles.

Shnewer was indicted on a charge of attempting to possess a machine gun or semiautomatic assault weapon to further a violent crime.
Dritan and Shain Duka are charged with possession of machine guns as illegal aliens. All three brothers are charged with possession of shotguns and rifles while illegal aliens.

The lead count of the indictment, charging conspiracy to murder personnel at several Delaware Valley military installations, also alleges the suspects actively attempted to recruit others to participate in armed attacks on the United States government.

One of the potential targets was the annual Army-Navy football game, according to the indictment. Other targets considered as part of the conspiracy, according to the indictment, were McGuire Air Force Base, which like Fort Dix is in Burlington County, Lakehurst Naval Air Station in Ocean County, the U.S. Army Base at Fort Monmouth in Monmouth County, the U.S. Coast Guard Base in Philadelphia and Dover Air Force Base in Kent County, Del.

Reach Renee Winkler at (856) 486-2455 or rwinkler@courierpostonline.com


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