Wealthy arms dealer convivted

2008-11-20 19:44

New York - A Manhattan jury has convicted a wealthy arms dealer of conspiring to sell weapons to informants who supposedly were supplying terrorists willing to kill Americans.

US prosecutors said Syrian-born Monzer al-Kassar and a co-defendant conspired over a four-month period last year to try to sell millions of dollars worth of heavy weaponry to Colombian militants.

The defence said the men were actually sleuthing on behalf of Spanish intelligence operators.

US authorities said al-Kassar was willing to sell surface-to-air missile systems, rocket-propelled grenade launchers and thousands of machine guns.

- AP