Monzer al-Kassar has been connected to numerous crimes, including the Achille Lauro hijacking and the Iran-Contra scandal.
16 Facts About Monzer al-Kassar
1.
2.
Monzer al-Kassar's father was a lawyer and diplomat who at various times was Syria's ambassador to Canada and India.
3.
In 1970, Monzer al-Kassar had his first Interpol-recorded arrest, for theft, in Trieste, Italy.
4.
Monzer al-Kassar lived in Sloane Square in London, where he took part in an operation that imported heroin and hashish from Lebanon, then bought arms with the profits and smuggled them back to Lebanon.
5.
In either 1974 or 1977, Monzer al-Kassar was arrested and jailed in the UK for selling hashish.
6.
In 1984, Monzer al-Kassar was expelled from the UK for drug and arms trafficking.
7.
The Spanish government alleges that in 1985, Monzer al-Kassar sold arms to the hijackers of the Achille Lauro cruise ship, and that afterwards he flew the hijackers' leader, Abu Abbas, to safety in one of his private airplanes.
8.
In 1992, Monzer al-Kassar made arms sales valued in the millions of USD to Croatia, Bosnia and Somalia, violating United Nations arms embargoes to all three countries.
9.
Monzer al-Kassar spent more than a year in jail before being released on bail.
10.
In 2006, the Drug Enforcement Administration decided to put together a sting to trap Monzer al-Kassar, code-named "Operation Legacy" and led by Jim Soiles and the DEA's Special Operations Division.
11.
Samir spent much of 2006 trying to arrange a meeting with Monzer al-Kassar, and was finally able to in December 2006.
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The group met several more times, and at later meetings the informants were wearing hidden video cameras, which recorded Monzer al-Kassar agreeing to the terms of the deal.
13.
Monzer al-Kassar was charged with conspiring to kill Americans, supplying terrorists, obtaining anti-aircraft missiles and money laundering.
14.
On 13 June 2008, Monzer al-Kassar was extradited to the United States of America for trial; he arrived in New York in shackles the following day.
15.
Since 2009, Monzer al-Kassar has been serving his sentence at different federal prisons.
16.
Monzer al-Kassar is currently held at United States Penitentiary, Florence High.