By Jim Kouri
Saturday, September 1, 2007
Two University of South Florida (USF) students have been indicted by a federal grand jury in Tampa, Florida, for transporting explosives materials without permits, the Department of Justice announced on Friday.
The two-count indictment unsealed Friday charges Ahmed Abdellatif Sherif Mohamed and Youssef Samir Megahed, both Egyptian nationals, with transporting explosives in interstate commerce without permits. The indictment alleges that the two men, "not being licensees" under federal law, "did knowingly transport and cause to be transported in interstate commerce explosive materials" on or about Aug. 4, 2007 in the Middle District of Florida and elsewhere.
Mohamed was also charged with distributing information about building and using an explosive device. The indictment alleges that Mohamed taught and demonstrated the making and use of an explosive and destructive device, with the intent that such information be used for, and in the furtherance of, an activity that constitutes a federal crime of violence.
Mohamed, a civil engineering graduate student and teaching assistant at USF, and Megahed, an engineering student, were stopped for speeding and subsequently arrested on Aug. 4, 2007 in Goose Creek, SC by a South Carolina Berkeley County Sheriff's deputy.
Both Mohamed and Megahed were charged with possession of an explosive device, in violation of South Carolina law. Bond was set for Mohamed in the amount of $500,000 and for Megahead in the amount of $300,000. Both men are currently being held in Berkeley County jail.
The charges in the indictment are merely allegations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty. The charge of distributing information about explosive devices carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, and the charge of transporting explosive materials carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison.
Reginald I. Lloyd, US Attorney for the District of South Carolina, expressed his appreciation for the efforts of the Berkeley County Sheriff's Department and the Ninth Circuit Solicitor's Office in South Carolina.
"I am very grateful for the hard work and professionalism of our local law enforcement partners in this important investigation. The arresting deputy's vigilance and the immediate response of our local investigators and prosecutors are highly commendable," he stated.
This case is being prosecuted by the US Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Florida, with the assistance of the National Security Division at the Department of Justice in Washington, DC The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Joint Terrorism Task Forces in both Tampa and South Carolina, with the assistance of the United States Attorney's Office for the District of South Carolina.
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