U.S. terror suspects allege entrapment

MIAMI, Sept. 2 (UPI) -- Seven men arrested in Miami on terrorism charges have alleged that U.S. government officials used informants to entrap the group.

The Washington Post reports Narseal Batiste and his six co-defendants have alleged that their arrest in June on charges of conspiracy to aid a terrorist organization were the product of a government informant who encouraged their actions.

Late last year, the FBI had a Middle East-born informant, known only as CW2, infiltrate the Miami group and take an aggressive role in its plans to conduct a terrorist attack inside the United States. The group allegedly planned to bomb the Sears Tower in Chicago and Miami government buildings.

Paid $17,000 for his services, CW2 quickly found the men weapons, orchestrated plans, and relocated them to an area warehouse where they were later recorded by the FBI making terrorist plans.

While Batiste's attorney has alleged that his client was not a real threat and was entrapped by the FBI, U.S. Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales said such preemptive efforts are necessary.

"Our philosophy here is that we try to identify plots in the earliest stages possible, because we don't know what we don't know about a terrorist plot," Gonzales told the Post.