
Five Iranians nabbed at US northern border as terror fears grip small towns
"On July 1, Border Patrol Agents from the Champlain, New York Station, responded to suspicious activity near Mooers Forks, NY," CBP's Swanton Sector said on Facebook. "Agents located a minivan occupied by five citizens of Iran and two citizens of Uzbekistan."
The Champlain Station is part of the Swanton Sector. Swanton is a rural town in Vermont near Highway 89 just south of the Canadian Border.
CBP said that all seven men had been previously arrested for attempting to cross the border illegally. All seven aliens are detained and awaiting deportation.
"They are currently detained and pending removal proceedings," CBP said. "Border security is national security and directly correlates to public safety, Swanton Sector Agents remain vigilant and committed to protecting our borders and enforcing immigration laws."
Earlier this month, a counterterrorism expert told Fox News Digital that Iranian terrorist sleeper cells could be hiding in plain sight. The U.S. military crippled several Iranian nuclear sites after targeted airstrikes on June 22.
"Where these sleeper cells may be is in plain sight," former FBI special agent and terrorism task force member Jonathan Gilliam said. "And that's the real terrifying part of this is that putting people in place, as we've seen over the past four years, everyone's scrambling because certain amounts of people could come in here and get in here."
Gilliam pointed to the Biden administration's border policies as a reason for concern.
"They could even go to the border and say they [want to] seek asylum, and the Biden administration, instead of putting them into DHS housing or ICE housing and holding them there so they could have their first appearance. To be vetted and whether or not they get asylum," he said.
In a 2023 terrorism report released by the State Department in December of last year, the federal government outlined numerous instances of worrying behavior by Iranian nationals in western countries.
"In 2023 the U.S. Department of Justice unsealed an indictment charging three individuals connected with Iran in a plot to assassinate an Iranian dissident in New York City," that report said. "Also in 2023, a United Kingdom court found a man guilty of attempting to collect information for terrorist purposes on the London-based Iran International, a media company that is critical of the Iranian regime."
"In recent years, Albania, Belgium, and the Netherlands have all either arrested, convicted, or expelled Iranian government officials implicated in various terrorist plots in their respective territories. Denmark similarly recalled its ambassador from Tehran after learning of an Iran-backed plot to kill an Iranian dissident in that country."
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
4 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Basketball tournament honours 14-year-old murdered in Toronto's east end
Dozens of young people came out Saturday for a memorial basketball tournament Saturday in honour of a local 14-year-old who was fatally stabbed in the city's east end earlier this month. The tournament took place at Père Philippe Lamarche — a French Catholic secondary school in Scarborough — to pay tribute to their former friend and classmate, Abdoul Aziz Sarr. The memorial tournament was organized by TAIBU Community Health Centre, where Sarr regularly volunteered. On July 5, late in the evening, Sarr was stabbed near a fast food restaurant near Eastern and Woodward avenues, according to police. He later died in hospital. Two 16-year-olds have been charged with second-degree murder in connection with the stabbing, Toronto police said earlier this month. "We couldn't really believe what happened," said 14-year-old Malik Tchecoim, who was at the tournament Saturday and said he knew Sarr. "The day before that happened we just saw him, we talked to him. And the next day we just heard about him passing away," he said. "It was a shock" Tchecoim said he and his friends, as well as the rest of Sarr's classmates, were saddened by Sarr's death, but the stabbing hasn't made him afraid of their neighbourhood. Still, he said his parents now ask that he check in with them diligently when he goes around town to be sure he makes it safely to where he's going. Brahim Nokour, project co-ordinator for TAIBU, remembered Sarr as a young person who was highly engaged in his community — including TAIBU's basketball tournaments. "He used to coordinate everything," said Nokour. "How could such a young person doing all this for his community tragically pass away?" This weekend's tournament was a way for TAIBU to not only honour Sarr's memory, but also to teach the importance of physical and mental well-being to youth and parents through workshops, said Nokour. It's part of a 12-week-long initiative promoting mental and physical health for Francophone youth. In response to this month's tragedy, Nokour said TAIBU organizers are trying to teach kids to "just be careful." "Instead of being out on the street, just hang out here, play basketball, socialize," he said. He said he hopes the event encourages young people to identify their strengths and pushes them to contribute positively to their community.
Yahoo
4 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Man, 18, Identified as Suspect Who Allegedly Killed 1, Injured Another During University of New Mexico Shooting
Authorities charged John Fuentes in relation to the death of a 14-year-old boy and the injury of a 19-year-old male The identity of the suspect arrested and charged in relation to the fatal shooting at the University of New Mexico (UNM) has been revealed. In a statement issued on Saturday, July 26, the New Mexico State Police (NMSP) named 18-year-old John Fuentes as the alleged perpetrator. Fuentes was located by authorities in Valencia County and was taken into custody without incident on the afternoon of Friday, July 25, hours after the shooting, the statement said. He was then booked at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Albuquerque on charges of murder in the first degree, aggravated battery, aggravated assault and tampering with evidence. NMSP were initially called to the UNM campus in the early hours of July 25 after receiving a report of a shooting from the University of New Mexico Police Department, according to the statement. Campus police responded to an alarm signal at Mesa Vista Hall, an academic building located on campus, at 1:36 a.m. local time. Upon arrival, campus officers observed broken windows and suspected blood, and, after conducting a security sweep of the surrounding buildings, they discovered the body of a deceased 14-year-old male inside one of the dorms, per the NMSP. College police officers additionally received a call from the University of New Mexico Hospital stating that a 19-year-old male had come in with a gunshot wound and said he was shot at the UNM campus. NMSP said in the release that their initial investigation 'has determined that the incident involved four individuals who were hanging out in a dorm room in the Casas Del Rio complex.' 'At some point, for reasons still being investigated, the suspect began shooting a firearm at the other occupants in the room. The 14-year-old victim was fatally shot while the other occupants, along with the suspect, fled from the room,' the statement continued. Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up for for breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases. The name of the deceased victim, as well as the other individuals involved in the incident, have not yet been released. It currently remains unclear if Fuentes is a UNM student. NMSP said the investigation remains ongoing. PEOPLE reached out to the University of New Mexico, as well as the University of New Mexico Police Department, for comment on July 26 but did not receive an immediate response. Read the original article on People
Yahoo
4 minutes ago
- Yahoo
18-year-old arrested in UNM shooting that killed 14-year-old boy
An 18-year-old suspect has been arrested in a shooting at a University of New Mexico dormitory that left a 14-year-old boy dead and wounded a 19-year-old early Friday morning, authorities said. The incident involved four individuals who were reportedly playing video games in a dorm room at Casas del Rio, a privately owned on‑campus housing complex in central Albuquerque, UNM Police Chief Joseph Silva said at a news conference Friday night. Police initially responded to an alarm at nearby Mesa Vista Hall shortly after 1:30 a.m. When officers arrived, they found broken windows and what appeared to be blood at the scene. 'While conducting a sweep of nearby buildings, UNM police located a deceased 14-year-old male inside a room at the Casas del Rio dormitory,' Silva said. Around the same time, a 19-year-old male arrived at UNM hospital, saying he had been shot on campus. New Mexico State Police took over the investigation shortly before 4 a.m. Preliminary findings indicated that four individuals were 'hanging out in a dorm room at the Casas del Rio complex' when, for reasons still under investigation, the suspect began shooting at the other occupants, State Police Chief W. Troy Weisler told reporters. The three other individuals fled the room after the gunfire. Using license plate reader technology, investigators identified and located the suspected shooter, who was arrested without incident around 2:30 p.m. during a traffic stop in Valencia County. He was riding in a vehicle with a family member at the time, officials said. The suspect, identified as 18-year-old Joen Fuentes, faces charges of first-degree murder, aggravated assault, aggravated battery and tampering with evidence. Authorities are still investigating how the suspect is connected to the victims. 'Part of our investigation is to determine why the individuals were there and to gather more details about what exactly transpired immediately before and after the shooting,' Weisler said. Most of the campus was placed under a shelter-in-place order after the shooting, which was lifted later Friday afternoon. The campus fully reopened Saturday for 'all planned activities.'