Mexico stops plot to smuggle Kadafi son into country

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REPORTING FROM MEXICO CITY -- The Mexican government Wednesday exposed what it said was a plot to sneak a son of Moammar Kadafi into this country, a plan foiled when authorities busted an international smuggling ring.

Saadi Kadafi, the 38-year-old son of the deposed and slain dictator, got as far as Niger. But, authorities said, he was supposed to travel to Mexico as part of an elaborate scheme complete with new names, fake Mexican citizenship, a network of safe houses and private jets flying a route through Kosovo and Canada.

Interior Secretary Alejandro Poire said four people -- two Mexicans, a Canadian and a Dane -- formed the smuggling ring and were arrested last month. Saadi Kadafi was to be accompanied by three family members, and they were to be housed in a luxurious upscale resort area of Nayarit, on the Pacific coast, Poire said.

Kadafi, who is wanted by Interpol and accused by Libya’s transitional rulers of attacks on civilians, remains in Niger and was not attempting to travel illegally, his attorney told wire services.

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-- Tracy Wilkinson