Raleigh-Durham Joint Terrorism Task Force Receives FBI Director’s Award

The Director of the FBI recognized 15 members of the Raleigh-Durham Joint Terrorism Task Force with an award for Outstanding Counterterrorism Investigation in Washington, D.C., on September 6, 2012. Robert S. Mueller, III presented the award to members of the team for their work investigating Daniel Patrick Boyd and seven other men who were plotting a terrorist attack on the U.S. and overseas. The case became known as the Triangle Terror Group.

Daniel Boyd was a convert to Islam and was actively recruiting people to join him in an attack. Boyd, Zakaryia Boyd, Dylan Boyd, Hysen Sherifi, Ziyad Yaghi, Mohammad Omar Aly Hassan, Anes Subasic, and Jude Kenan Mohammad were indicted by a federal grand jury in July 2009 after more than four years of a detailed and highly complex investigation by the FBI and its law enforcement partners. Seven of the men were convicted on federal terrorism charges and are currently serving prison sentences.

The award was presented to employees at the FBI, Raleigh Police Department, Durham Police Department, Defense Criminal Investigative Service, members of the prosecutorial team at the United States Attorney’s Office Eastern District of North Carolina, and members of the Department of Justice in Washington, D.C. The Director’s Award is considered the most prestigious within the FBI.

“The outstanding work by the Raleigh-Durham Joint Terrorism Task Force is a textbook example of how the FBI handles counterterrorism investigations since 9/11. The JTTF collected intelligence to develop a complete understanding of the threat and disrupted it, likely sparing innocent lives in the U.S. and abroad,” said Chris Briese, Special Agent in Charge of the Charlotte Division of the FBI.

Award recipient and Supervisory Special Agent Maria Jocys said, “This investigation exemplified the importance of a joint task force. They not only enable law enforcement to share intelligence, but they bring together the skills, talent, and unique authorities from each agency into a single team to mitigate emerging terrorist threats.”