http://www.nynewsday.com/news/nationwor ... 3577.story

Ex-Embassy Driver Admits Smuggling Aliens


By Associated Press

January 10, 2006, 9:41 PM EST


ALEXANDRIA, Va. -- A former driver for the Saudi Embassy in Washington pleaded guilty Tuesday to smuggling aliens into the United States.

Mohamed Abdel Wahab Yakoub, 61, admitted he used Saudi Embassy letterhead to obtain diplomatic visas from U.S. embassies for several Egyptians and Filipinos.

Yakoub, an Egyptian, faces up to 10 years in prison when he is sentenced in April on a single count of smuggling aliens. He will be subject to deportation after the sentencing.

Yakoub sold visas for $5,000 to $7,000. Court documents indicate he helped at least six illegal aliens gain entry to the U.S. in 2000 and 2001. He was fired by the Saudi embassy in 2002.

The Joint Terrorism Task Force, which helped investigate, said it had no indication the scheme had any connection to terrorism.