Four Men Arrested in Missile Purchase

Four people believed to be members of the Irish Republican Army were arrested Friday while attempting to purchase a heat-seeking anti-aircraft missile and other weapons, the FBI announced.

The four, believed to be members of the Provisional faction of the IRA, were trying to gather weapons for terrorist activities outside the United States, said William Gavin, who heads the FBI office in South Florida.

The arrests of Irish nationals Kevin Joseph McKinley, 33, Seamus Moley, 30, and Joseph McColgan, 39, and a Canadian, Sean John McCann, 34, concluded a two-month undercover investigation, said officials of the FBI, the U.S. Customs Service and the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms.

On Friday, Moley went to a West Palm Beach warehouse and paid undercover agents $50,000 for a “Stinger” missile, a shoulder-fired weapon supplied by the United States to troops for anti-aircraft defense, an FBI statement said.

“If this was fired at an airliner it could blow it right out of the sky, so one of these missiles could cause an extreme amount of damage,” said Timothy Wagner, head of the Customs Service in Florida.

“The Stinger missile is a surface-to-air missile that is used against aircraft. So one would have to believe that if they expressed an interest in procuring this type of weaponry, they planned a terrorist act, obviously against an aircraft,” added Robert Creighton, who heads the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms office in Florida.

Each defendant was charged with conspiracy to possess destructive arms, possession of a destructive device and violations of the Arms Export Control Act and the Neutrality Law. Each faces up to 25 years in prison and $750,000 in fines if convicted, the FBI said.

“I’m just a poor Irishman here on holiday, and I was entrapped by certain people here,” McColgan said in a thick brogue as he was led in handcuffs from the federal courthouse. “Certain people here offered to sell me a piece of equipment for the Irish Republican struggle.”

In a series of meetings, the suspects revealed details about past terrorist activities to convince federal agents they were involved in terrorism and serious about buying the missile, the authorities said.

“When they met with our undercover agents, they described in detail events which occurred outside of the country--which did occur--and we believed absolutely they were involved,” Creighton said.

All four men were held without bond at the Palm Beach County Jail and were scheduled for a hearing before U.S. Magistrate Ann E. Vitunac in West Palm Beach on Tuesday.