indicted Ahmed Muhammed Dhakane, 24, a Somalia citizen, on two counts of false statements under penalty of perjury to federal authorities concerning his association with global terrorist organizations.

indicted Ahmed Muhammed Dhakane, 24, a Somalia citizen, on two counts of false statements under penalty of perjury to federal authorities concerning his association with global terrorist organizations. United States Attorney John E. Murphy announced the indictment was returned Thursday and unsealed Friday afternoon.
It alleges that on October 28, 2008, the Dhakane “falsely omitted on an application for asylum that from a time prior to September 11, 2001, until January 2003, he was a member of, or was associated with, al-Barakat and Al-Ittihad Al-Islami.”Both organizations have been designated as Specially Designated Global Terrorists by the Department of Treasury.
Dhakane is also alleged to have “provided additional false information concerning his entry into the United States. The defendant allegedly claimed to authorities that he and his wife traveled from Somalia to Mexico via Russia, Cuba, Costa Rica, and Guatemala.”
“While in Mexico, they traveled by bus to the United States/Mexico border, where they were smuggled illegally into the United States. The indictment alleges that defendant failed to disclose to authorities that from June 2006 until March 2008, he resided in Brazil where he participated in, and later ran, a large-scale human smuggling enterprise knowing that such disclosure to authorities would prevent him from receiving asylum in the United States.”
Dhakane surrendered to U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents near Brownsville, Texas in March 2008. While being held in an Immigration Detention Facility located in Pearsall, Texas, he allegedly made the false statements to federal authorities.
If convicted, Dhakane faces up to 10 years in federal prison per count.
This case was investigated by agents with the Joint Terrorism Task Force, the FBI, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the U.S. Border Patrol, and the Department of Homeland Security. Assistant United States Attorney Mark Roomberg is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.