Thread: Baltimore tunnel suspects in U.S. illegally

http://www.washtimes.com/metro/20051019 ... -1885r.htm

Tunnel suspects in U.S. illegally
By Tarron Lively
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
Published October 20, 2005

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The four men questioned in connection to a threat to bomb one of two tunnels beneath Baltimore's harbor were in the country illegally and now face deportation, officials said yesterday.

The men had been ordered to leave the country and missed a number of deportation hearings before they were detained Tuesday, said Mark Bastan, acting special agent in charge at the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Baltimore.

"Technically, they were fugitives," he said. "They've already been through the system. There are no more hearings for them."

The four men -- Ahmad Al Momani, 58, Mohamed Ahmed Mohamady Ismail, 30, Mohamed Mohamed-Abdelhamed, 38, and Suied Mohamad-Ahamad, 25 -- will be held at a detention center in Wicomico County, Mr. Bastan said.

Al Momani is from Jordan, Mr. Bastan said. The other men are from Egypt.

He said that there is likely not enough evidence to connect any of the men to a threat to drive an explosive-filled vehicle into either the Harbor Tunnel or the Fort McHenry Tunnel.

Maryland transportation officials closed sections of Interstate 95 and the Harbor Tunnel, and the Fort McHenry Tunnel was restricted to one lane of traffic in each direction from about 11:30 a.m. to 1:15 p.m. Backups were six miles long at times.

A man in custody in the Netherlands was the source of information about the threat and tipped off authorities about Ismail, said a federal law-enforcement official speaking on the condition of anonymity.

The other three were among several persons rounded up and questioned in a series of raids conducted in the city Tuesday afternoon.

"We weren't looking for those three," Mr. Bastan said. "They just happened to be there when we were [interviewing] -- wrong place at the wrong time."

The men's deportation could take up to about a month, Mr. Bastan said.

One of the arrests during the raids resulted from information supplied to immigration officials by the Baltimore FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force, the source said.

Multiple businesses with Middle Eastern connections were raided. An arrest made at a restaurant named Safi's Pizza could be connected to the tunnel threat, the source said.

Another arrest was made at Koko Market, a convenience store in East Baltimore. Eyewitnesses said authorities led a man from the market early Tuesday afternoon, putting him inside a black sport utility vehicle.

Maged Hussein, the store's owner, was taken in to custody on handgun charges, according to court documents. Mr. Hussein did not face immigration charges.

The Joint Terrorism Task Force is the lead agency in the investigation.

Barry Maddox, a spokesman with the FBI's Baltimore field office, said the task force will keep pursuing leads and make a decision about how much further to develop the case.

The Fort McHenry Tunnel handles traffic for Interstate 95 -- a major thoroughfare from Maine to Florida that serves such major East Coast cities as the District, New York and Philadelphia. The Harbor Tunnel is part of Interstate 895, an alternate north-south route through Baltimore.

www.washingtonpost.com

Man Allegedly Linked to Md. Tip Deported

By BRIAN WITTE
The Associated Press
Wednesday, October 19, 2005; 5:32 PM



BALTIMORE -- A man detained after his name came up in a tip about a purported bomb plot against Baltimore highway tunnels will be deported for immigration violations along with three other men who were picked up at the same time, a federal official said Wednesday.

There was no indication that any of the men were connected to terrorism groups, said Mark Bastan, acting special agent in charge at the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Baltimore.

Because of the tip _ which came from a source in custody in the Netherlands _ the Baltimore Harbor Tunnel was closed and the Fort McHenry Tunnel was reduced to one lane of traffic in each direction for nearly two hours Tuesday.

All four men were detained Tuesday during the tunnel closure. They already had faced deportation and had broken the law by failing to show up for deportation proceedings, Bastan said.

The FBI said Tuesday it had been unable to corroborate the bomb threat.

One federal law enforcement official said the decision to close the tunnel was linked to raids carried out Tuesday as authorities sought several men who the tipster had said would drive vehicles filled with explosives into a Baltimore-area tunnel. The official said local authorities felt they needed to shut down the tunnels around the time of the raids on the chance that, assuming the threat was real, the raids would force the bombers' hand.

The official spoke on condition he not be named because the investigation is continuing.

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http://www.washtimes.com/metro/20051018 ... -6367r.htm

Bomb threat shuts Baltimore tunnels
By Tarron Lively and Matthew Cella
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
Published October 19, 2005

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BALTIMORE -- Maryland transportation officials closed sections of Interstate 95 and two tunnels underneath Baltimore's harbor late yesterday morning because of a threat that an explosive-laden vehicle would blow up one of the tunnels.

The Harbor Tunnel was closed and the Fort McHenry Tunnel was restricted to one lane of traffic in each direction from about 11:30 a.m. to 1:15 p.m. Backups were six miles long at times.

The Fort McHenry Tunnel handles traffic for Interstate 95 -- a major thoroughfare from Maine to Florida that serves such major East Coast cities as the District, New York and Philadelphia.

The Harbor Tunnel is part of Interstate 895, an alternate north-south route through Baltimore.

"It was a massive and complex operation," said Chief Gary W. McLhinney of the Maryland Transportation Authority Police Department, who decided to make the closures. "This is exactly what we've trained for."

He said about 80 officers, including state troopers and Baltimore City and Baltimore County police, helped empty and close the tunnels within about two minutes.

"We implemented a plan that we had in place," Chief McLhinney said. "We've [practiced] this exact scenario in the last few months."

The closures were in response to an unspecified threat called in to authorities by a person claiming to have information from abroad.

A federal law-enforcement official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said a man in custody in the Netherlands was the source of information about the threat.

The FBI and the federal Department of Homeland Security issued a joint statement that a potential threat of "undetermined credibility" was made about an unspecified tunnel in the area. No evidence has been found to corroborate the information.

Kevin L. Perkins, special agent in charge of the Baltimore division of the FBI, said interviews are ongoing in the case to determine the credibility of the threat.

He declined to comment on reports that four persons were arrested yesterday on immigration charges at businesses with Middle Eastern connections in the Baltimore area.

A federal law-enforcement official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said one of the arrests resulted from information supplied to immigration officials by the Baltimore FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force.

An arrest made at a restaurant named Safi's Pizza could be connected to the tunnel threat, the source said.

Another arrest was made at Koko Market, a convenience store in East Baltimore. Authorities led a man from the market early Tuesday afternoon, putting him inside a black sport utility vehicle, sources said.

The market is routinely open from 8 a.m. until 9 p.m., but was closed by midday.

Renee Basil, a resident, said that the store opened about 10 years ago and that employees have always been friendly with neighbors.

Baltimore Police Commissioner Leonard Hamm said authorities made about a half-dozen raids in the area at about 1 p.m.

Jim Pettit, spokesman for Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich's Department of Homeland Security, declined to comment on the reports because the investigation is ongoing.

"We're acting out of an abundance of caution," he said.

At a late-afternoon press conference, Mr. Ehrlich, a Republican, said federal, state and local officials conducted a "seamless" operation.

"It truly was a joint effort at all levels of government," he said.

Mr. Ehrlich and other officials repeatedly said the decision to close the tunnels was supported by the federal government -- just two weeks after New York Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg announced a plot to attack the city's subway system, despite federal officials saying the threat was of "doubtful credibility."

The joint statement by the FBI and the Homeland Security Department also stated the agencies "support(ed) whatever protective measures... that state and local law enforcement authorities deem appropriate to ensure the safety of their community."

Officers inspected the undercarriage of some vehicles at the tunnel entrances, using police dogs to conduct searches.

Chief McLhinney said the searches had turned up nothing as of yesterday afternoon.

He also said that the investigation began about two weeks ago and that the decision to act yesterday was made, in part, out of concern that the terrorists would act as word of the investigation leaked.

"I'm not going to hesitate to [make closures] if I think it's the proper thing to do," Chief McLhinney said. "We'll err on the side of public safety every time."

Baltimore Mayor Martin O'Malley, who is running for the Democratic nomination to challenge Mr. Ehrlich next year, held his own press conference and complained that he didn't know about the tunnel closings until after they happened.

However, state officials strongly disputed the mayor's contentions. Chief McLhinney said city police were present at the Maryland Transportation Authority Police Department's command center for an 8 a.m. briefing that included the possibility of closing the tunnels. Mr. Ehrlich pointedly noted that Chief McLhinney had a sign-in sheet that showed when all the officers checked in at the center.