Informant in Fort Dix case admits pot use

CAMDEN, N.J., Nov. 6 (UPI) -- The FBI's chief informant in an alleged plot to attack the U.S. Army's Fort Dix in Burlington County, N.J., said Thursday he is a marijuana user.

During his testimony in U.S. District Court, informant Mahmoud Omar admitted to repeatedly smoking marijuana and even using the $1,500 a week payments he received from the FBI to purchase the illegal drug, The (Newark) New Jersey Star-Ledger said.

"I smoke," the witness in the alleged terror plot case said. "I'm sorry, I smoke."

The comments from the 39-year-old Egyptian national came as he was being examined by defense attorney Rocco Cipparone, who is representing defendant Mohamad Shnewer.

Shnewer is one of five South Jersey Muslims accused of planning a terror attack on the U.S. Army base or a similar military site.

The Star-Ledger said the defense is attempting to portray Omar, who helped FBI officials bust the alleged terror cell, as an untrustworthy individual who fabricated the allegations against the five defendants.