Among those arrested include North Africans tied to Al Qaeda and Chechens tied to “The Butcher of Beslan.” So how exactly is the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) laying down such a remarkable record? Simple: it has forward-thinking officers who are determined to think outside the box. Over the past five years, the LAPD has been busting apart support networks for terror organizations in rapid succession. As veteran law enforcement officer Colonel Dave Gavigan told me, “In law enforcement, the rule is ‘follow the money.’”

For the LAPD, the results of the money trail have been tremendous. Read the entire article, “An L.A. Police Bust Shows New Tactics For Fighting Terror” written by Robert Block for The Wall Street Journal (subscription required). Here’s the beginning:

LOS ANGELES — In September 2004, just days after Chechen rebels raided a school in Beslan, Russia, killing 331 men, women and children, the Los Angeles Police Department summoned senior officers to its decaying downtown headquarters. The issue on the table: What would they do if a similar attack took place here?

Most of the talk that morning was about where to deploy SWAT teams if terrorists ever took over a local school. Detective Mark Severino, one of the city’s counterterrorist investigators, then asked his colleagues: “Do we even have Chechen extremists in Los Angeles?” Blank stares and silence filled the room. His boss at the time, Deputy Chief John Miller, told him to go find out.

Within weeks, Detective Severino, working with a team of LAPD
intelligence analysts, tapped Russian underworld informants, and uncovered an international car-theft ring that wound its way from the streets of Los Angeles to the Chechens’ doorstep in the Republic of Georgia. The California racket was disguised as a charity group sending aid to the region. Based on other information, Detective Severino suspected that the operation was more than just a fraud scheme. His theory: The proceeds from stolen cars might somehow be financing Chechen terrorist operations around the world.

On Feb. 15, 2006, the LAPD busted eight people for fraud in connection with the alleged scam and issued arrest warrants for 11 others. Chechen terrorist financing was never mentioned in the indictments or in the press release that trumpeted the takedown of the operation. There were no news conferences claiming victory in the war on terror. Yet Russian police, U.S. intelligence and State Department officials familiar with the case today all say that they believe the LAPD’s breakup of the ring was a setback to international terrorists.

Share This Article