Pakistani human smugglers in Ecaudor, South America, attempted to smuggle a member of the Taliban terrorist network in Pakistan — as far as they knew — into the United States, through an operation that underscores the national security ramifications of border security.
“[Irfun Ul] Haq conspired with others to smuggle into the United States and individual who was believed to be a member of a foreign terrorist organization,” said Assistant Attorney General Lanny Breuer in a Department of Justice (DOJ) statement today announcing that Haq had been sentenced to 50 months in prison. Two co-conspirators, Qasim Ali and Zahid Yousaf, received somewhat shorter prison terms.
DOJ added that Ul Haq told confidential U.S. sources that he did not care if the people he smuggled into the United States — whom he understood to be a member of the Taliban — carried put a terrorist attack. “[If they want to do] hard labor, sweep floor, wash dishes in a hotel, or blow up,” Ul Haq said according to court documents, “that will be up to them.”
All three defendents will be deported to Pakistan at the end of their respective prison terms.
