Briton Charged in U.S. with Missile Sale

By Cynthia Kirk
Broadcast: August 16, 2003
This is Steve Ember with In the News, in VOA Special English.
A London man faces charges that he tried to bring a missile into the United States. American officials say the missile was to be used to shoot down a passenger airplane.
Federal officials arrested Hemant Lakhani on Tuesday in Newark, New Jersey¹. They describe him as an international 1)arms dealer². They charged him with trying to sell arms without a permit and providing material support to terrorists. Mister Lakhani is sixty-eight years old, a British citizen born in India.
His 2)arrest followed eighteen months of investigation³ by American, British and Russian officials. The Russians told the Americans that Mister Lakhani had sought illegal arms from Russian crime groups. American investigators⁴ then began to observe his activities.
They say they secretly recorded many discussions between him and another man. These recordings⁵ are at the center of the criminal case.
Officials say the other man identified himself as a terrorist seeking missiles for a 3)Somali group. But he was really an informer for the American government.
American investigators say the two men discussed the purchase of a Russian surface-to-air missile. They say Mister Lakhani knew the shoulder-launched-missile was to be used to attack an airliner⁶ in the United States.
The reported price for the missile was eighty-five-thousand dollars. Investigators say Mister Lakhani also promised to supply fifty more missiles for five-million dollars. They say he also expressed interest in buying tons of plastic explosive.
Investigators say Mister Lakhani praised the September eleventh, two-thousand-one, attacks on the United States. He reportedly said Osama bin⁷ Laden⁸ was a "hero" who "did a good thing."
Officials say Russian security officers fooled Mister Lakhani. They told him they were missile suppliers. Officials say Mister Lakhani thought the Russians had sold him a real missile. But investigators had disabled it. The missile was then brought by ship from Russia to the United States. Federal agents seized the missile on Tuesday.
Two other men are charged with making financial plans for the deal. One is Yehuda Abraham, in his mid-seventies, the owner of a 4)gem⁹ business based in New York. The other is a thirty-eight-year-old Indian citizen. Moinuddeen Ahmed Hameed reportedly traveled to the United States this week from Malaysia. They and Mister Lakhani have not had a chance to answer the charges against them. More court hearings are set for next week.
Last November suspected al Qaida members tried to shoot down an Israeli passenger plane with two missiles in Mombasa, Kenya. The worldwide market in illegal arms is said to have hundreds and possibly thousands of shoulder-launched missiles for sale. American military officials are willing to provide anti-missile technology to airline companies, but say the equipment costs a lot.
In the News, from VOA Special English, was written by Cynthia Kirk. This is Steve Ember.

注释：
1) arms dealer  军火商
2) arrest [E5rest] n.逮捕，拘留
3) Somali [sEu5mB:li] n.（东非国家）索马里（人）
4) gem [dVem] n.宝石，珍宝

1 jersey   

n.运动衫

参考例句：

• He wears a cotton jersey when he plays football.他穿运动衫踢足球。
• They were dressed alike in blue jersey and knickers.他们穿着一致，都是蓝色的运动衫和灯笼短裤。

2 dealer   

n.商人，贩子

参考例句：

• The dealer spent hours bargaining for the painting.那个商人为购买那幅画花了几个小时讨价还价。
• The dealer reduced the price for cash down.这家商店对付现金的人减价优惠。

3 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

4 investigators   

n.调查者，审查者( investigator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This memo could be the smoking gun that investigators have been looking for. 这份备忘录可能是调查人员一直在寻找的证据。
• The team consisted of six investigators and two secretaries. 这个团队由六个调查人员和两个秘书组成。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 recordings   

n.记录( recording的名词复数 )；录音；录像；唱片

参考例句：

• a boxed set of original recordings 一套盒装原声录音带
• old jazz recordings reissued on CD 以激光唱片重新发行的老爵士乐

6 airliner   

n.客机，班机

参考例句：

• The pilot landed the airliner safely.驾驶员使客机安全着陆。
• The passengers were shepherded across the tarmac to the airliner.旅客们被引导走过跑道去上飞机。

7 bin   

n.箱柜；vt.放入箱内；[计算机] DOS文件名:二进制目标文件

参考例句：

• He emptied several bags of rice into a bin.他把几袋米倒进大箱里。
• He threw the empty bottles in the bin.他把空瓶子扔进垃圾箱。

8 laden   

adj.装满了的；充满了的；负了重担的；苦恼的

参考例句：

• He is laden with heavy responsibility.他肩负重任。
• Dragging the fully laden boat across the sand dunes was no mean feat.将满载货物的船拖过沙丘是一件了不起的事。

9 gem   

n.宝石，珠宝；受爱戴的人 [同]jewel

参考例句：

• The gem is beyond my pocket.这颗宝石我可买不起。
• The little gem is worth two thousand dollars.这块小宝石价值两千美元。