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| Three Iranian immigrants arrested at Pilgrim nuclear plant in Plymouth |
| 2003-09-30 |
| Hat tip to Drudge Three men caught with camera equipment on the grounds surrounding the nuclear power plant were arrested and interrogated by federal and local authorities. The trio, who police say came to the United States as teenagers from Iran, were spotted at the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station Saturday morning walking along a restricted beach near the plant. They were arrested on trespassing charges. The men told authorities they were hiking. uh huh...in those shoes? "It sounded at first a little ominous," said David F. Tarantino, spokesman for Entergy, owner of the plant. "The beach is very difficult to navigate. It is not like a stroll along a sandy beach. It is a beach with big boulders and rocks. It is really a tough exercise to navigate." The men told authorities they were touring Plymouth, he said. "They said they like to hike and they were hiking along the shore," he said. Fariborz Motamedi, 42, of 23 Panettieri Drive, Lakeville; Amir M. Lashgari, 41, of 2001 Marina Drive, Quincy, and Hamid H. Ahmadi, 49, of 7 Brahman Drive, Norton, were arrested, charged and later released after extensive questioning by authorities. Attempts to reach the three men this morning were unsuccessful. A phone number listed to Motamedi in Taunton was disconnected and there was no listing for him in Lakeville. There was no phone listing for Ahmadi in Norton. The number of Lashgari in Quincy was nonpublished. Plant security staff first noticed the three men as they neared the posted restricted area and stopped them when they got in, Tarantino said. "They had been under constant surveillance," he said. Plymouth police and the FBI were called in and digital camera equipment the men had with them was confiscated, he said. Authorities examined all the photographs, he said. There were no known photographs of the plant taken, he said. The men told police they parked at White Horse Beach and hiked onto the grounds. Police said the men had been in town before in the last two weeks. Tarantino said security surrounding the plant has been increased since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. There have been several arrests of people who have crossed into the restricted area, either by land or water, he said. Those cases included a person in a kayak who landed on the beach and fishermen who strayed into restricted waters. "Our policy is to arrest," Tarantino said of anyone who strays into the restricted area surrounding the plant. shoot first might be better? maybe not...but at least surveillance and security’s working |
| Posted by:Frank G |
| #5 Look at their ages. They would have been around 20 years old when the embassy was stormed. Their houses need to be searched on probable cause. They are dirty. |
| Posted by: Super Hose 2003-9-30 8:48:07 PM |
| #4 Do NOT f*ck around with nuclear facility security personnel: They are the meanest, deadliest, best paid civilian paramilitaries with some SWAT training. The NRC penetration tests facilities using Special Forces personnel on loan from the Pentagon, so if a facility passes, they're being guarded by some pretty competent people. And unlike other security personnel in other jobs, they know that an attack on their workplace has the potential consequence of harming their families and friends, not to mention sending the property values of their homes plummeting. Talk about incentive to kick ass! A Church member works as a guard at the local nuclear plant south of Vidalia, and he said that the nuke plants in Georgia were the first to pass the hightened standards Prior to the Olympic Games in Athens. |
| Posted by: Ptah 2003-9-30 5:33:30 PM |
| #3 Sure do remember Ptech ... it caught my attention because I remember how much their software tools were used in the late 1990s. |
| Posted by: rkb 2003-9-30 2:36:50 PM |
| #2 Would have been nice to keep them under surveillance a little longer--to at least see what they were going to take pictures of particularly and what parts of the plant they were focussing on, and even possibly get them on a more serious charge. Now they'll probably just get small trespassing fines and released, although they'll likely be under surveillance everywhere for some time. |
| Posted by: Dar 2003-9-30 2:00:09 PM |
| #1 2001 Marina Drive - about 1 mile from my old place. Does anyone remember the Ptech, Inc bust back in December? It's in the same area, a block or two from another, and it's not a low-rent district. "They had been under constant surveillance," he said. I bet they were. |
| Posted by: Raj 2003-9-30 1:06:34 PM |