According to US officials, four men were charged as suspects in a plot to plant explosives in the jet fuel system at JFK, one the busiest airports in the US, with 1,000 flights a day.

The suspects have ties with a South American Muslim extremist group. The plot was discovered when when the suspects tried to convince an undercover police agent to join in their plan.

One of the four mens involved in the JFK plot, Russell Defreitas, was arrested in New York. He is a US citizen born in Guyana. Other two suspects, Abdul Kadir, a Guyana citizen who has served in the Guyanese Parliament, and Kareem Ibrahim, a citizen of Trinidad are in custody in Trinidad, according to US officials. The fourth man was still being sought, Department of Justice officials said Saturday.

Russell Defreitas, who used to work at JFK airport, used his knowledge to video and identify targets and escape routes and assess airport security.

"The defendants sought to combine an insider's knowledge of JFK Airport with the assistance of Islamic radicals in the Caribbean to produce an attack that they boasted would be so devastating to the airport that 'even the Twin Towers can't touch it'," said Kenneth Wainstein, assistant attorney general for national security.

"Once again would-be terrorists have put New York City in their crosshairs and once again the FBI, New York Police Department and other law enforcement agencies have joined forces to stop them," said New York Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly.

US officials confirmed that the plot had been under surveillance for 18 months and there was no threat to public safety.

"Had the plot been carried out, it could have resulted in unfathomable damage, deaths and destruction," said US attorney Roslynn Mauskopf, who called it "one of the most chilling plots imaginable."