5 years for Indian arms peddler

A man of Indian origin has been sentenced to five years in prison for involvement in a plot to sell Stinger anti-aircraft missiles to the Al-Qaeda terror network.

Ilyas Ali, a naturalised US citizen of Indian origin, and two Pakistanis pleaded guilty to providing material support to terrorists and a conspiracy to distribute heroine. San Diego District Judge James Lorenz sentenced Ali to

57 months in jail yesterday.

In 2002, Ali along with Pakistanis Syed Mustajab Shah and Muhammed Abid Afridi travelled from Karachi to Hong Kong to meet US undercover officers to negotiate the sale of hashish and heroin, according to the indictment.