Authorities thwart 'chilling' bomb plot at New York airport

U.S. authorities arrested and charged threemen andsearched for a fourth suspectSaturday in an alleged plot that included blowing up fuel tanks and a pipeline into New York's John F. Kennedy airport.

A former worker at the airport was among those charged, authorities said.

"The devastation that would be caused had this plot succeeded is just unthinkable," U.S. Attorney Roslynn Mauskopf told a news conference.

Authorities said the men were motivated by hatred toward the U.S., Israel and the West. Mauskopf described the situation as "one of the most chilling plots imaginable."

Investigators received information about the plot in January 2006, according to the indictment.

The charges allege the men intended to blow up a fuel pipeline as well as fuel supply tanks.

Officials stressed there was no imminent threat to the airport since the plot never got past the planning stages and thesuspects had not yet obtained any explosives.

The pipeline takes fuel to the airport from a facility in Linden, N.J.

Three of the men were arrested Saturday and one other, Abdel Nur of Guyana, was being sought in Trinidad, law enforcement officials said.

Russell Defreitas, a former Kennedy airport employee who is also a U.S. citizen native to Guyana, was in custody in Brooklyn. He was expected to be arraigned Saturday afternoon.

According to the indictment, Defreitas allegedly said Kennedy airport was a symbol that would put "the whole country in mourning."

"It's like you can kill the man [assassinated president John F. Kennedy] twice," the indictment alleges he said.

Two other men, Kareem Ibrahim of Trinidad and Abdul Kadir of Guyana, were in custody in Trinidad. Kadir is a former member of Guyana's parliament.