Probe of 3 terrorism suspects shuts down Florida highway
Sept. 13, 2002, 11:02AM
Copyright 2002 Houston Chronicle wire reports
chron.com
MIAMI -- Three people in two cars were detained today along a South Florida highway on suspicion of plotting a terrorist attack. Authorities shut down the interstate as they used dogs and a robot to search for explosives.
The cars were stopped after a woman at a restaurant in Georgia reported overhearing three men who appeared to be of Middle Eastern descent making "alarming" comments, according to Mickey Lloyd of the Georgia Department of Public Safety.
Eunice Stone, who said she was the only who called authorities, told FOX News Channel that one of the men said: "Well, if they're mourning it 9/11, what are they going to do about 9/13?"
Bomb-sniffing dogs alerted authorities to material in both cars, but no explosives had been found after more than 8 1/2 hours, said E.J. Picolo of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.
Authorities blasted open what appeared to be a backpack taken from one of the vehicles, and a robot was being used to search the vehicles. Bomb squad technicians in protective blast suits also removed a suitcase and plastic bags from one car and searched the interior and trunk.
"We're taking it very serious until we can eliminate the possibility of a threat or verify that there was a legitimate threat," Picolo said.
Picolo said all three people in the vehicles had been identified and were legally in the country, but he would not provide futher information about them. The three were being detained but had not been placed under arrest, he said.
The cars, both with Illinois license plates, remained on Interstate 75 about 50 yards apart, and the highway remained closed more than nine hours after the cars were stopped.
FBI spokeswoman Carrie McCune in Chicago said five federal agencies were involved but she wouldn't release any other information.
The Florida Highway Patrol shut down a 20-mile stretch of the interstate, known as Alligator Alley, around 1 a.m. after one of the cars ran a toll plaza, Lt. John Bagnardi of Florida Highway Patrol told CNN. He said the people pulled over were uncooperative and refused to immediately allow a search.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation had issued an advisory for the two cars Thursday after a woman in Calhoun, Ga., in the northwestern part of that state, told police she overheard three men who appeared to be of Middle Eastern descent discussing their plans, authorities said.
The interstate is the main east-west route across the Everglades, running from Naples to Fort Lauderdale. The highway patrol said the road was blocked off from a toll booth east of Naples to State Road 29. U.S. law enforcement authorities have been on a heightened state of alert since Tuesday, when they announced they had identified a high risk of terrorist attack on the anniversary of the Sept. 11 hijacked aircraft assaults on the United States, in which more than 3,000 people were killed.
A spokeswoman for the Federal Aviation Administration's southern district said some flight restrictions had been imposed over the scene.
"There's a temporary slight restriction in place at request of the Collier County Sheriff Department and that is within a 3 nautical mile radius of the location in question at and below 3,000 feet," the spokesman said. |
