DHS claims ISIS terrorists could be working in mall kiosks

Image source: Bloomsbury Cupcake

The news had security analysts examining potential vulnerabilities in those relatively anonymous purveyors of bedazzled cellphone accessories, cheap jewelry, and names emblazoned on grains of rice.

And talk among kiosk vendors at the city's shopping centers has turned toward trying to figure out where in Philadelphia Abror Habibov, 30, hung his shingle.

Federal agents arrested Habibov on Wednesday outside Jacksonville, Fla., and charged him alongside two other Brooklyn, N.Y., residents with plotting to recruit for, and support, Syrian operations of the terrorist group ISIS.

Habibov's work at mall kiosks had no direct tie to his alleged terrorist activities, according to law enforcement sources who have been briefed on the case against the men.

But the allegations against him and the nature of his business prompted some to draw comparisons to federal terrorism raids at immigrant-run jewelry kiosks at malls in Philadelphia and around the country in the wake of the 9/11 terror attacks.

On Friday, departing Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. pointed to Habibov's case and a recent video in which the Somali-based terrorist group al-Shabab threatened to attack the Mall of America in Minnesota as signs that shopping mall operators needed to beef up security.

"It would be the responsible thing for operators of these malls to increase their capabilities when it comes to keeping people safe who are just going about their everyday lives," he said.

Which is 100% B.S., Homeland Security had no credible threats to ANY malls in America, it was just a ploy to keep them funded and Americans running scared.

Click here & here to see how DHS manipulates Congress & the public by using that magic word, "TERROR".

"Malls are obviously paying more attention," said Jack Tomarchio, a former U.S. Homeland Security official and president of the Wayne-based Agoge Group. "They're bringing in more security guards. They're heavily invested in technologies. In the common areas of malls, they have perimeter and indoor cameras." (To learn more about DHS trained security guards click here & here.)

Did you know that Mall of America works with DHS and enters EVERYONE in a terrorism database? So smile and show them what you really think when you go shopping.

What is DHS really after?

Money pure and simple, kiosks make billions of dollars. So when budgets are being cut or threatened what does law enforcement do? They look for alternative means to supplement their budgets, see the video below:

This is not the first time federal authorities have targeted kiosk owners for suspected terrorist ties. Months after the 9/11 attacks, FBI and federal immigration agents descended on a street-level jewelry kiosk at the Gallery, part of a coordinated operation of raids on more than 75 stands at malls across the country. Most targeted franchises of the Florida-based company Intrigue Jewelers.

Lawyers for several of those questioned at the time said authorities were investigating whether the immigrant-operated shops were funneling money to overseas terror groups.

Some 30 employees across the country - including two workers at an Allentown-area Intrigue outlet - were eventually charged with immigration violations. But no terrorism-related charges were ever filed, prompting defense lawyers and some Muslim organizations to accuse the Justice Department of pursuing baseless claims and racial profiling.

"They're questioning me about Osama bin Laden, if I knew him, or if I knew anybody like that," Tariq Hussain recalled. "I was like, 'Come on. How the hell do I know him?'"

In the weeks after Sept. 11, about 1,200 foreign nationals were detained by federal investigators. Most were of Arab or South Asian ancestry, charged only with immigration violations, and the vast majority are no longer in custody. Several businesses and Islamic charities have also been accused of funding terrorism.

The Justice Department had conducted its investigation in secret, refusing not only to acknowledge who was in custody but on what charges. The U.S. Supreme Court, blocked an effort to open hearings to the public.

Do you still think America is the land of the free?

Links:
http://www.philly.com/philly/news/20150301_Terrorism_arrests_focus_new_scrutiny_on_mall_kiosks.html
http://articles.philly.com/2002-07-08/news/25357950_1_intrigue-jewelers-mall-kiosks-ins-agents
http://www.activistpost.com/2013/05/new-york-mall-kiosks-raided-by-homeland.html