Suspected terrorist in FBI custody
From Kelli Arena
CNN
(CNN) -- The FBI has had in custody since April a Pakistani-American who is believed linked to al Qaeda and who allegedly participated in plots to attack Americans overseas, law enforcement sources said.
Mohammed Junaid Babar is cooperating with authorities, the sources said. He is being held as a material witness as part of an ongoing investigation, which means details of his case are under seal.
Several sources said a plea deal with Babar is expected to be announced soon, possibly as early as Thursday. The sources would not say what charges might be involved.
Babar, a naturalized American citizen, was arrested in Queens. The sources said he is believed to have been involved in a financing operation in the United States to send money to a group in London known to law enforcement as "al Muhajiroun," which includes Pakistani terrorists.
That group allegedly was plotting bombings and assassinations overseas.
One senior law enforcement source said Babar was "on the radar screen" for a while before being taken into custody. The group he is associated with in London has been under British surveillance and members of it purchased nearly a ton of ammonium nitrate that has been used in bomb making, the source said.
Law enforcement sources said Babar "is the real thing -- a dangerous terrorist."
The sources said there are no other people currently in U.S. custody connected to Babar, but the investigation into him continues.