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TRENTON
– A resident of Pakistan has been
indicted for allegedly telephoning the Valero
Refinery in Paulsboro in 2007 and telling
an employee that he was going to blow up
the facility.
The
Division of Criminal Justice obtained a
state grand jury indictment yesterday charging
Zahoor Ahmad, 32, of Havelian, Pakistan,
with making terroristic threats, a third-degree
crime.
Ahmad
allegedly made the telephone threats on
Nov. 29, 2007. An investigation by the New
Jersey Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness
revealed that Ahmad was involved in a relationship
with a woman in the U.S. and was trying
unsuccessfully to obtain a visa to enter
the country to marry her. A relative of
the woman worked at the Valero Refinery,
and the threat allegedly stemmed from a
dispute that Ahmad was having with the family.
The
Greenwich Township Police Department and
the Paulsboro Police Department responded
to the refinery after the threat was reported.
The U.S. Coast Guard and Gloucester County
Prosecutor’s Office were notified
and the security level at the refinery was
increased for several days.
Deputy
Attorney General Julia Scharff Glass presented
the case to the state grand jury.
Third-degree
crimes carry a maximum sentence of five
years in state prison and a $15,000 fine.
The indictment is merely an accusation and
the defendant is presumed innocent until
proven guilty.
The
indictment was handed up to Superior Court
Judge Linda R. Feinberg in Mercer County,
who assigned the case to Gloucester County.
A copy of the indictment is linked to this
release at www.njpublicsafety.com.
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