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Hizbullah's Criminal Networks
(Washington Institute for Near East Policy) Matthew Levitt - Hizbullah criminal enterprises span the globe from drug-running and organized crime in the Balkans, to procuring false passports in Southwest Asia, to trafficking in stolen goods and money laundering in South America, and operating corporate front organizations and extorting financial support in Africa. In 2009, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency revealed a series of Hizbullah criminal schemes in the U.S. which ranged from stolen laptops, passports, and gaming consoles to selling stolen and counterfeit currency, procuring weapons, and a wide range of other criminal activities. According to U.S. investigators, following the loose threads in several recent cases led straight back to a Hizbullah representative in Iran, Abdallah Safieddine, a cousin and close associate of Hizbullah leader Hassan Nasrallah. The writer is Director of the Program on Counterterrorism and Intelligence at The Washington Institute for Near East Policy.