Florida businessmen arrested for financing Hezbollah

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(JTA) — Three Florida businessmen were arrested for smuggling video games to a mall in Paraguay linked to Hezbollah.

The businessmen, from the Miami-Dade area, were arrested Feb. 18 for smuggling video games and other electronic products to a shopping center that federal agents say served as a front for financing Hezbollah.

Hezbollah has been designated a terrorist group by the United States. Americans are prohibited from doing business with the Lebanon-based group under a post-9/11 law.

The businessmen, who sold thousands of Sony PlayStation 2 consoles and Sony digital cameras during 2007 and 2008 to the shopping mall in Paraguay, have been identified as Khaled T. Safadi, Ulises Talavera and Emilio Gonzalez-Neira, according to the Miami Herald.

The mall has been identified by the U.S. Treasury Department as a funder of and headquarters for Hezbollah.
 

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