| |
Briarwood Brothers Busted In Bomb Scare
By LIZ GOFF
Two Briarwood brothers, enraged by their sister’s plan to run out on an arranged marriage, phoned in a bomb threat to a Long Island airport in January to stop the woman from traveling to Arkansas to marry another man, authorities said.
Suffolk County police arrested financial analyst Amandeep Singh, 24, and medical student Gurpreet Singh, 26, at their Queens home Feb. 16. Both men are charged with falsely reporting a terrorist threat to plant a bomb on a Delta jet that was about to take off from Long Island’s MacArthur Airport, authorities said.
Sources said that Singh’s parents “went berserk” when their 30-year-old daughter announced she was going to marry a gas station owner.
The enraged parents set up an arranged marriage for the woman with a doctor in India, the sources said.
In a last-ditch effort to elope with the man she loved, the daughter purchased tickets for the Delta flight to Arkansas, police sources said.
When the brothers learned of their sister’s plan, they phoned the airport on Jan. 17, saying they had heard of a plot to bomb a flight on Jan. 18 – the day their sister and her boyfriend were scheduled to leave for Arkansas.
Federal agents and local law enforcement that beefed up security at the airport said they questioned the credibility of the caller – and the threat. No flights were cancelled at the airport on Jan. 18, and officials did not notify passengers or the press, sources said.
When the brothers told their sister what they had done, she cancelled the one-way tickets she had purchased just hours before the flight was scheduled to take off, officials said.
Federal agents monitoring movement of tickets at MacArthur spotted the cancellation, and headed to Queens to question the sister. She led them to her brothers – and to other family members involved in the threat, the sources said.
The brothers face up to a year in prison if convicted of the current charges. The men, who have been in the U.S. for more than 15 years, could also face additional charges by the federal government.
Sources said Amandeep Singh told police the incident was a “misunderstanding,” and refused further comment.
The sister has since married the auto mechanic, the sources said. The couple is living at an undisclosed location.
|
|
Seminerio Steps Down, Pleads Guilty
Hundreds Get In Line For Handful Of Jobs
Man Caught On Video Trashing Political Signs
Hiram Claims Reform, Dems Disagree
City Geese Removal Not Linked To Trash
Public Art Installation Destroyed By Vandals
Facing Foreclosure? Find Help With 311
Judge OKs Vantage Tenants’ Lawsuit
Iranian Election Votes Cast In Queens
Centers Saved But Programs Face Cut
COBRA Coverage May Be Extended
BP Offers Guide On Immigrant Aid
Mayoral Control Saga Winding Down
Back To School After Graduation?
Amigos Strike Back: Albany In Chaos After Monday’s Coup
Boro Loses A Soldier Serving In Afghanistan
Maloney Poll Shows Edge Over Gillibrand
Jamaica High School On the Rebound
Hearings Set For Waste Transfer Station
Sanitation Commish Defending Trash Plan
Vantage Response System Earns Praise
Avella’s Existence Doubles Thompson’s $$
Queens School Ready For The Bronx
|