A Pakistani national having close ties with Iran was on on Tuesday charged in connection with a foiled plot to assassinate a politician or US government officials on American soil, authorities in the country said.
The 46-year-old Pakistani national was charged in a complaint unsealed in federal court in Brooklyn with murder-for-hire as part of a scheme to assassinate a politician or US government officials on its soil.
Asif Raza Merchant, 46, arrived in the United States in April 2024 from Pakistan after spending in Iran and contacted a person he believed could assist him with the scheme, according to court documents cited in a news agency PTI report.
That person reported Merchant’s conduct to law enforcement and became a confidential source.
US Attorney Breon Peace for the Eastern District of New York said that working on behalf of others overseas, Merchant planned the murder of US government officials on American soil.
FBI Director Christopher Wray said the “dangerous murder-for-hire” plot allegedly was orchestrated by a Pakistani national with close ties to Iran and is straight out of the Iranian playbook.
How Merchant Explained The 'Scheme'
In early June, Merchant met the confidential source in New York to explain his assassination plot, telling the individual that the opportunity he had for the person was "not a one-time opportunity and would be ongoing."
Indicating that the opportunity was related to a killing, Merchant reportedly made a “finger gun” motion with his hand.
Merchant further stated that the intended victims would be “targeted here”, meaning in the US.
Merchant asked the individual to arrange meetings with others whom he could hire to carry out the tasks. Merchant explained that stealing documents or USB drives from a target’s home, planning a protest, killing a politician or government official were among the criminal schemes in his plot.
Merchant at the meeting began planning potential assassination scenarios and quizzed the individual on how he would kill a target in the various scenarios, the PTI report mentioned, adding that Merchant specifically asked to explain how the target would die in different scenarios.
Merchant told the individual that there would be “security all around” the person.
Merchant stated that the assassination would occur after he left the United States and that he would communicate with the individual from another country using code words.
The source asked whether Merchant had spoken to the unidentified “party” back home with whom Merchant was working, to which he responded that he had and the party back home told him to “finalise” the plan and leave the US.
Role Of Undercover US Officers
In mid-June, Merchant met with the purported hitmen, who were undercover US law enforcement officers in New York. Merchant advised the undercover officers that he was looking for three services from them: theft of documents, arranging protests at political rallies, and for them to kill a “political person”.
Merchant said the hitmen would receive instructions on who to kill IN either the last week of August or the first week of September after he leaves the United States.
Merchant then began arranging $5,000 in cash to pay the undercover officers as advance payment for the assassination, which he eventually received with assistance from an individual overseas.
On June 21, Merchant met with the undercover officers in New York and paid them the $5,000 advance. When one of the undercover officers said : “now we’re bonded”, Merchant responded with a “yes.”
The undercover officer said: “Now we know we’re going forward. We’re doing this”, to which Merchant responded, “Yes, absolutely.”
Merchant then made flight arrangements and planned to leave the US on July 12 when law enforcement agents arrested him before he could leave the country.
