Highland Park man faces terrorism charges

Federal authorities arrested a Highland Park man in Romania on Feb. 10 in connection with providing weapons to the Taliban to be used against American troops in Afghanistan, police said in a news release.

A sting operation by the Drug Enforcement Administration resulted in the arrests of seven men, including Oded Orbach, a Highland Park homeowner originally from Israel.

Orbach is charged with conspiracy to provide material support and resources to terrorists and conspiracy to acquire and transfer anti-aircraft missiles, according to the news release. If convicted, Orbach could face life in prison.

“Today we eliminated an entrenched global criminal network, preventing it from moving ton quantities of cocaine, laundering millions in drug money and trading arms to the Taliban to undermine the rule of law and kill Americans,” DEA administrator Michele Leonhart said in the news release.

Orbach remains in Bucharest, Romania, where he is being held pending extradition to the United States.

– Rebecca Gausnell