Six men indicted in alleged Fort Dix plot

By: Stephanie Prokop
   FORT DIX — The six men who were allegedly plotting an armed assault on troops at the Fort Dix Army base in May were indicted Tuesday by a federal grand jury, according to U.S. Attorney Christopher J. Christie’s office.
   Five defendants are charged with conspiracy and other charges related to alleged plans to kill as many soldiers as possible at the Army base. A sixth man was indicted on charges he provided firearms to three members of the group.
   The federal complaint alleges the men conducted firearms training in Gouldsboro, Pa.; conducted surveillance of Fort Dix, Fort Monmouth and Dover Air Force bases; acquired a map of Fort Dix; reviewed terrorist-training videos; conducted tactical training in Cherry Hill; and ordered four AK-47 machine guns, and M-16 rifles and handguns. Those events occurred between Jan. 3, 2006 and May 8, 2007, the complaint stated.
   Mr. Christie said the FBI and Joint Terrorism Task Force began investigating the men after a clerk from a retail store informed the Mount Laurel Police Department on Jan. 31, 2006 that someone had brought a suspicious video to the store to be duplicated into a DVD. The video contained images of the men in military garb yelling and shooting guns, Mr. Christie said. The Mount Laurel police then contacted the FBI.
   The complaint stated one of the men had a file on his computer containing what appeared to be the last will and testament of at least two of the hijackers involved in the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.
   The charges that were brought against the six mostly mirror those brought in the original criminal complaint that was revealed on May 8.
   According to the press release from the U.S. Department of Justice, one new count against two of the defendants charges them with unlawful possession of machine guns — the AK-47s and M-16s they purchased and took possession of just before they were arrested by special agents of the FBI.
   According to the press release, the six defendants and the charges against them are as follows:
   Mohamad Ibrahim Shnewer, 22, of Cherry Hill, was charged with conspiracy to murder members of the uniformed services.
   Dritan Duka, 28, of Cherry Hill, was charged with conspiracy to murder members of the uniformed services; unlawful possession of machine guns.
   Shain Duka, 26, of Cherry Hill, was charged with conspiracy to murder members of the uniformed services, unlawful possession of machine guns, and two counts of being an illegal alien in possession of firearms.
   Eljvir Duka, 23, of Cherry Hill, was charged with conspiracy to murder members of the uniformed services, and one count of being an illegal alien in possession of firearms.
   Serdar Tatar, 23, of Philadelphia, was charged with conspiracy to murder member of the uniformed services.
   Agron Abdullahu, 24, of Buena Visa Township, Atlantic County, was charged with aiding and abetting the Duka brothers’ illegal possession of weapons.
   The next step will be for the six defendants to appear for arraignment. That date is yet to be determined, and all six defendants have been in custody without bail since their arrests on the night of May 7.