CBS:
MIAMI (CBS4) – “I am an informant and all I can tell you is that Talibans are walking freely right here in the soil of America right now, right now.”
That’s the haunting worry of South Floridian David Mahmood Siddiqui. He was the confidential FBI informant who has a rare view of of trying to infiltrate a largely secreted world of what the U.S. government considers terrorist sympathizers.
He met with CBS’4 Chief Investigator Michele Gillen saying he wants to tell his story to share what he’s uncovered and explain why he has concerns for the safety of the United States.
Asked by Gillen what he thinks the risk of having Taliban living in America is, he responded; “They can commit a jihad at any time, they hate America, you have an enemy living here in American soil, do not know when they will take action to kill innocent Americans.”
Gillen met with Saddiqui to get an insider’s look into a recent case that made headlines across the South Florida community and the nation.
In a review of court documents and records, it appears Saddiqui and his undercover work resulted in key evidence in the case against Muslim Cleric Hafiz Muhammed Sher Ali Khan.
Following a 29 day trial, the 77 year old former head of the oldest Mosque in Miami was convicted last month of supporting terrorism and conspiracy. Khan awaits sentencing and could end up spending the rest of his life in prison.
What happened? Exact details are not revealed but we know that Siddiqui portrayed himself as a Taliban sympathizer and had worn an FBI wire to capture on tape multiple conversations with Khan including phone calls and face to face meetings.
CBS4 news obtained from the US government the transcripts of those taped conversations and reviewed thousands of pages.
In one conversation Sidiqqui brought up the attempted bombing of Times Square.
On tape, according to the transcripts, Khan responds ” It would have been great had it worked out…..such a brave heart.”
Since that attempt, the U.S. government has indicated that the action had ties to the Pakistani Taliban.
According to the U.S. government, Khan had funneled some $50,000 to the Pakistani Taliban.
“Keep one thing in mind, it may be $50,000, but you can buy an m-16 for 50 bucks in Pakistan. You can buy a belt to blow yourself away for 50 bucks. In Pakistan, $50,000 is considered a lot of money,” said Siddiqui.