Brazilian musician Michael Messias, 43, claims Hezbollah offered him more than $100,000 to kill Jewish targets when he visited Lebanon for a performance
Michael Messias told Brazil's Federal Police that he was offered more than $100,000 by Mohamad Abdulmajid to carry out attacks for Hezbollah. Abdulmajid is wanted by Interpol for allegedly recruiting Brazilians to carry out terrorist activities for Hezbollah
By Adry Torres
Daily Mail
Nov 28, 2023
Brazilian musician Michael Messias claims was offered more than $100,000 by Hezbollah to carry out murders against targets in Brazil. The proposal was made when he traveled to Beirut, Lebanon for a performance - he was contracted by Mohamad Abdulmajid, who is wanted by Interpol for recruiting Brazilians for the extremist group
A musician who was arrested by Brazilian authorities is now claiming that Hezbollah offered him $100,000 to carry out killings.
Michael Messias told the Federal Police that he traveled to Lebanon for a performance and met with members of the militant group and was told he would be rewarded if he carried out attacks against Jewish targets in Brazil, online news outlet G1 reported Tuesday.
Messias initially denied he had met with the extremist organization after he was interrogated following his November 12 arrest in Rio de Janeiro.
But he changed his tune in a second interrogation and said he traveled to the Middle East at the behest of Mohamad Khir Adbulmajid, a Syrian who holds Brazilian citizenship and is wanted by Interpol for allegedly recruiting Brazilians for Hezbollah.
Messias told investigators that Adbulmajid asked him he had ever carried out a murder and if he would be willing to kill a person, both of which he denied.
Mohamad Abdulmajid is reportedly in Lebanon and is wanted by Interpol for allegedly attempting to hire Brazilians to carry out attacks for Hezbollah in Brazil against Israeli and Jewish targets
During their meeting, Adbulmajid attempted to persuade him, indicating that he could make 'a lot of money' if he accepted Hezbollah's offer, which again was rejected. Adbulmajid wired $500 to Messias' bank account and handed him a large amount of cash to spend on sightseeing in Beirut.
The musician said he crossed paths with Adbulmajid three days and that a man who was covering his face with a mask offered him '$100,000 or more' to carry out attacks, which he declined to do. The individual who accompanied Adbulmajid also asked Messias if he knew of anyone back in Brazil who was in a criminal group, a former cop or someone who evading justice who he could recommend as a hired killer. He replied no.
According to the testimony, Messias never saw the two men again and traveled back to Brazil with the money he had been previously given. He was contacted again a month later via WhatsApp and was asked when he was planning on returning to Lebanon.
Messias told the police that he never mentioned the militant group by name, adding that he was not aware who they were.
In his first interrogation, he said he traveled to Lebanon in late 2022 and in March with his wife as a part of 'musical exchange.' He also told investigators that he first met
Messias said he met Adbulmajid at a wedding in Rio de Janeiro and saw him a second time at a travel agency to purchased tickets for a seven-day trip to Lebanon.
Messias said Adbulmajid covered all of the flight and hotel expenses for the first trip and did not spend any money because the Lebanese were treating him.
The second trip, he told police, was covered by a person who contacted him via WhatsApp from an unknown number.
But what he did not tell police during his first interrogation was that he had met with Abdulmajid and the other individual, whose identity is unknown.
Mohamad Abdulmajid had posted on social media a photo of him from 2016 during the Syrian civil war in which Hezbollah extended its support to President Bashar Al-Assad
Details of the Federal Police investigation that were reviewed by Brazilian news magazine, Fantastico, show that Abdulmajid moved to Brazil in 2008 and was arrested for selling liquor to minors in Minas Gerais.
The Federal Police claims that Abdulmajid's wife operates two tobacco stores in Belo Horizonte, but that he is the owner of both businesses. Authorities allege that he started smuggling products in 2021 and the profits bankrolled terror activities.
Brazilian law enforcement evidence points to Abdulmajid's being a member of Hezbollah's paramilitary wing.
A deleted photo posted to his social media network in 2016 showed him dressed in military gear when he fought in the Syrian civil war in 2016 - Hezbollah supported the regime of President Bashar Al-Assad.
Brazilian authorities have arrested two other men who were allegedly recruited by Abdulmajid to carry out attacks. Both suspects did not have religious or ideological ties to Hezbollah.
'The fact that there are recent migration records of all those mentioned to Lebanon, associated with the evidence of lack of financial conditions and criminal records of the native Brazilians, corroborate the thesis that we are facing a possible phase of recruitment of Brazilians for illicit activities, including in the event of terrorist objectives,' the police report said.
No comments:
Post a Comment