A Kyrgyz national, Adylbek Kozubaev, has been arrested in the U.S. state of Illinois for having allegedly threatened to blow up a shopping centre in Iowa. The 22-year-old Kyrgyz appeared before a federal court on August 31.
Kozubaev twice rang up a shopping center in the city of Davenport, Iowa, threatening to cause an explosion, according to the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
It has been alleged that this happened after he failed to negotiate rent on a kiosk in the mall.
Kozubaev first rang the mall on August 27, from a non-hidden number, wanting to find out how much it cost to rent a mobile kiosk during the winter holiday period.
After he was informed that the cost would be U.S $ 3,500 for two months, he tried to negotiate a lower price with another department of the same shopping center.
The name of the suspect is a real one, according to the FBI.
TV channel NBC reported that Kozubaev wanted to sell cashmere scarves.
Two days later, a man with the same voice called from a hidden number and informed the shopping center of his plans to blow it up.
“You have to clear the mall in 10 minutes, otherwise [what is inside it] will be blown up,” said the suspect, according to the FBI source cited in the US newspaper Chicago Tribune.
After 15 minutes, the same man again contacted the shopping center and repeated the threat to blow up the mall.
No Bomb Found
The Chicago Tribune reports that during the bomb-threat phone call the man introduced himself as Adylbek, but the news channel NBC reported that the caller used another name.
Explosive devices were not detected following a search of the mall.
Kozubaev was arrested on August 31, in Strimvud, Illinois, and on the same day he was charged with making a bomb threat – a serious crime under U.S. law.
“The FBI warned us that they had suspicions about a man who was driving from Iowa to Illinois,” said Tom Dart, Sheriff of Cook County, where Strimvud is located.
“We were given a sufficient description, so we tracked him down and found him, and then we were able to stop him. With us was a team of engineers, dogs and so on. But we did not find anything suspicious,” said Dart.
The newspaper the Daily Herald reported that police searched the Kyrgyz national and his car, a Volkswagen Passat, but found nothing.
Kozubaev will face trial on September 5.
American media outlets have not yet provided further information about Kozubaev.
Correspondents of Kloop.kg found a Facebook profile belonging to an Adylbek Kozubaev whose photo bears a definite likeness to the Illinois detainee.
According to his profile, Kozubaev finished school no.17 in Kadamjai, Batken, and the International University of Kyrgyzstan in Bishkek.
He last wrote on his Facebook wall in the summer of 2011.
Author: Bektour Iskender
