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Terror suspect now in NY; in court on Tuesday
posted by: Sara Gandy , Web Producer  
updated by: Jeffrey Wolf , Web Producer  
created: 9/25/2009 11:47:45 AM
Last updated: 9/26/2009 5:48:02 AM
TERROR PLOT SPECIAL SECTION
NEW YORK - Terror suspect Najibullah Zazi arrived in New York on Friday afternoon after his plane left Centennial Airport earlier in the day. Zazi faces a charge of conspiracy to use weapons of mass destruction.

9Wants to Know learned Zazi's flight left Centennial Airport around noon. His plane landed at Teterboro Airport in New Jersey around 3:30 p.m. Mountain Time. He was immediately escorted onto a helicopter and was flown to a helicopter pad at Brooklyn Army Terminal. After escorting him out of the helicopter, he was quickly put in a car and driven to the Metropolitan Detention Center. Police lined the entire route the car took from the helicopter pad to the detention center.

Zazi, 24, of Aurora, appeared in federal court in Denver Friday morning before U.S. Magistrate Judge Craig Shaffer. Zazi's second hearing in as many days was to address two charges, one in Colorado relating to lying to federal authorities, the other the conspiracy charge out of New York after an indictment was released Thursday.

According to Zazi's attorney, Arthur Folsom, Zazi will be in court in New York for a hearing on Tuesday.

The indictment says Zazi received explosives training from al-Qaida and bought large quantities of hydrogen peroxide and nail-polish remover at beauty supply stores to make bombs.

The Colorado charge of lying to a federal investigator was dismissed in Friday's hearing and Shaffer ultimately ruled to continue Zazi's detention and sign a transfer order to move Zazi to New York.

Shortly after 11 a.m. Sky9 showed two SUVs arriving at a Centennial Airport hangar which housed a plane and a substantial federal presence.

Armed federal agents could be seen in the area. NBC News has confirmed that the plane inside the hangar is registered with the U.S. Marshals, the federal organization in charge of Zazi's transfer.

During Friday's hearing, Assistant U.S. Attorney Tim Neff said evidence collected showed Zazi had gathered the necessary materials and was perfecting his bomb before driving to New York on Sept. 9, The Denver Post reports.

"[The evidence] suggested the defendant was intent on making a bomb and being in New York on 9/11 for the purpose of using such an item," Neff said.

Zazi originally became the center of the terror investigation after being stopped near New York City in a rental car on Sept. 10. Investigators say they found bomb-making instructions on the hard drive of his laptop computer in his rental car.

Zazi was tipped off that he was being watched and returned to Colorado where he was soon meeting with federal authorities. On Sept. 19 he was arrested for lying to investigators.

The new indictment, handed down by the Department of Justice Thursday, outlines the conspiracy to use weapons of mass destruction charge. The Dept. of Justice says Zazi, "knowingly and intentionally conspired with others to use one or more weapons of mass destruction, specifically explosive bombs and other similar explosive devices, against persons or property within the United States."

The federal government claims Zazi was committed to detonating an explosive device up until his arrest. The government says they have direct evidence that in Aurora Zazi actually purchased the component parts of improvised explosive devices and took "substantial" steps to carry out the plan. Furthermore, the indictment states Zazi even practiced making the devices at an Aurora hotel before traveling to New York.

Najibullah Zazi and Folsom have maintained Zazi's innocence since his name surfaced as a target of the FBI and Joint Terrorism Task Force investigation. Zazi also told 9NEWS in his first interview on Sept. 15 he is "not a terrorist" and has not associated with any one associated with al-Qaeda.



(Copyright KUSA*TV/Denver Post with ASsociated Press, All Rights Reserved)

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