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Police say crime ring put out of business

By SAUNDRA AMRHEIN
Published October 29, 2005

TAMPA - A criminal ring that bought and resold stolen cigarettes taken during smash-and-grab robberies has been broken up, authorities say, after a 20-month investigation by a regional domestic security task force.

The leader of the enterprise also was charged with trying to pay undercover agents to find children younger than 12 for him to have sex with, according to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.

All six suspects were arrested Friday at or near the five Tampa stores the ringleader either controlled or managed, said FDLE spokesman Rick Morera.

Based on a tip from authorities in Jacksonville in February 2004, the Tampa Bay Regional Domestic Security Task Force launched an investigation of Tampa resident Adil Abdel Hader, 58, who was the ringleader, Morera said.

That task force is made up of Tampa police, Hillsborough County and Polk County sheriff's deputies, the FDLE, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Florida Division of Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco, the Hillsborough County State Attorney's Office, and the Homeland Security Department.

It handled the case because investigations of similar enterprises in other states found the proceeds from the cigarette sales went to groups in the Middle East identified by the U.S. government as supporting terrorism, Morera said.

He emphasized that none of the local suspects has been linked to terrorist groups, though the investigation continues.

So far it has determined that Hader and underlings bought $45,000 worth of stolen cigarettes well below wholesale value and resold them through convenience stores, Morera said.

Meanwhile, at least four times, Hader told undercover officers, sometimes in graphic detail, that he was interested in sex with young girls and boys, and that he was willing to pay for the arranged meetings, the FDLE said.

Hader of 6017 W Idlewild Ave. remained at the county jail Friday on $300,000 bail under charges of racketeering, dealing in stolen property and solicitation to commit sexual battery, according to the FDLE and jail records.

The stores he operated were: Main Street Grocery, 2117 W Main St., Tampa; Bearss Meat and Groceries, 1450 N Skipper Road, No. 48, Tampa; Price is Right Market, 4008 N 34th St., Tampa; Ybor Restaurant, 3402 N 15th St., Tampa; and Sav-Mor Market, 1900 N Rome Ave., Tampa.

The other suspects are Khaldoun Khali Khawaja, 41, of 1731 W Perdiz St., Tampa; Salim Yousef Suleiman, 43, of 8305 Mark Twain Place, Tampa; Said Ibrahim, 50, of 2531 W Cherry St., Tampa; Tariq Hammad, age and address unavailable; Victor Reyes, 27, address unavailable. All were charged with dealing in stolen property and racketeering and booked into the county jail.

[Last modified October 29, 2005, 02:01:37]