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| Al-Qaida suspect arrested in NYC |
| 2003-08-05 |
| The FBI has arrested a Pakistani man with alleged ties to al-Qaida in New York City, NBC News has learned. The man is alleged to have close ties to the mastermind of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. What most worries senior law enforcement officials is that the man is involved with the shipping industry. About four months ago, in the heart of New Yorkâs garment district, agents from the FBIâs Joint Terrorism Task Force arrested a young Pakistani man as he sat at his desk in the office of an import company. The case is sealed. But senior U.S. law enforcement officials tell NBC News they believe the man, Uzair Paracha, is closely connected to Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, the alleged al-Qaida mastermind arrested in Pakistan in March. Paracha is still being held in New York City as a material witness. The officials say he may be charged with providing material support to al-Qaida as early as this week. The officials say they do not yet know if Paracha is actually a member of al-Qaida and have no information he was planning any specific terror attacks. Officials also do not believe the company where Paracha was arrested is connected to terrorism. Their biggest concern: what Paracha might have been able to do. Parachaâs father runs a clothing export firm in Karachi, Pakistan, that regularly ships large containers full of clothing to Newark, N.J. âThis is something that would concern me greatly,â said Rick Hahn. Hahn, a former FBI counter-terrorism agent, says al-Qaida has used or attempted to use containers to smuggle both terrorists and deadly materials. âThe potential for danger lies in the fact that they could bring in weapons of mass destruction, even large quantities of high-quality explosives,â said Hahn. Parachaâs father, Saifullah, was about to board a plane in Karachi last month when he disappeared â arrested by Pakistani police, his family believes. U.S. sources say the father is in custody. |
| Posted by:Paul Moloney |
| #1 Interesting - and the potential is certainly there. This Press obsession with some imagined formal Al Qaeda membership needs to be rooted out of the collective mind. They don't carry spiffy AQ ID cards. Those who interact with the known asshats, by whatever means, and show the tell-tales are linked and must be checked out for overt / covert activity. The job the cops have is hard enough, already. You don't need video of them doing the secret AQ handshake and kissy-face. Sheesh. |
| Posted by: ·com 2003-8-5 2:16:05 AM |