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Mexican “FedEx Bandit” turns out to be Iranian

Sep 28, 2005 10:35 am By Robert Spencer

CAIR will be happy to know that this suspected bank robber was caught not because he was Iranian, but because authorities thought he was Mexican and looked nervous at a border crossing. He turned out to be Iranian national, which raises questions about what he was using the money for — if authorities are still allowed to pursue such matters. In any case, even if Farhbaksh was just using the money for a new convertible and a love nest in San Ysidro, this case raises yet more concerns about our porous southern border. Richard Miniter points out in his latest book that jihadists have more often entered the U.S. from Canada than from Mexico, but that doesn’t mean that a Mexican crossing couldn’t be successful — if the jihadist manages to avoid sweating profusely and raising suspicions with a false ID. Unfortunately, these hurdles are overcome easily enough. “Authorities arrest suspected ‘FedEx bandit,'” from the San Diego Union Tribune, with thanks to the Constantinopolitan Irredentist:

SAN DIEGO — The robber known as the “FedEx bandit” has been arrested, ending a two-year spree that included more than 40 bank robberies, authorities said Tuesday.

The 40-year-old man was arrested Monday while trying to cross the Mexican border at San Ysidro with a counterfeit ID card, authorities said.

They initially identified him as Ernest Lozano, but it turned out that was the assumed name of a dead U.S. resident. He was then identified as Farzad Naroii, but an investigation then determined his real name was Farhad Farhbaksh, said Lauren Mack, a spokeswoman for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Farhbaksh is an Iranian national who first entered the United States on a student visa in 1978, authorities said.

The bank robbery spree began in September 2003 and included robberies in Los Angeles, Orange and San Diego counties, with more than 30 of the crimes occurring in San Diego County, said San Diego police Lt. Mike Angus.

“He was dubbed the ‘FedEx bandit’ because in several of the robberies he walked in there with an envelope, a FedEx envelope, that he used as a prop and to carry the money out at times,” Angus said.

The FedEx robber would show bank tellers a gun in his waistband or jacket pocket, and sometimes threatened to shoot them or said he had a bomb.

Angus said the FedEx bandit was responsible for one of the longest bank robbery sprees in the region in recent years, and investigators had few clues until he slipped up in June….

On Monday afternoon, Farhbaksh was trying to enter the United States through the pedestrian crossing at San Ysidro. He caught the attention of officers because he was sweating profusely and looked nervous, said Bruce Ward, acting port director with U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

Immigration and customs enforcement agents pulled him aside when he presented a phony ID card. They checked his fingerprints and discovered there were warrants out for his arrest, authorities said.

“It was a very good catch,” Ward said. “Mr. (Farhbaksh) could have very well just walked into the United States if not for these alert officers.”

FBI Special Agent Darrell Foxworth said Farhbaksh confessed to 43 bank robberies in San Diego, Los Angeles and Orange counties during a five-hour interview with federal and local investigators.

He told investigators he was in the country to avoid the military draft in Iran.

Foxworth said he wouldn’t release how much money was stolen in the string of robberies or reveal what Farhbaksh said he was using the money for.

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Filed Under: Iran, Mexico, United States


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