To insinuate that the story was buried on page 37 is silly. The story was clearly highlighted on the front page and truly got all of the attention that it deserved. There was never any fear of an impending attack and by all indications this was four Caribbean knuckleheads sitting around talking about making a name for themselves.
According to Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, ?This plot was only in its planning stages and at no point was anyone in imminent danger.? Two senior law enforcement officials said that there was no imminent threat to the airport and that the men had yet to obtain any explosives. They had conducted surveillance and the former airport worker had made several trips to Guyana and one trip to Trinidad and Tobago to try to get support for the plot.
Investigators have painted the ringleader, Defreitas, as more of a deluded religious zealot than a competent terrorist. There is even some question as to whether his plot would have moved past the planning stages, regardless of whether police had interceded. Last fall, an informant joined Defreitas on a series of trips between New York and Guyana, where the duo met with Kadir, Ibrahim and Nur in hopes of wooing potential financiers namely, Jamaat al Muslimeen. That group gained notoriety when it staged a deadly coup attempt in 1990, but its criminal prestige deteriorated to the point where it is now considered little more than a street gang in Trinidad, authorities said.