Man named in Afghan letter arrested in U.S.
April 17, 2002 Posted: 5:14 PM EDT (2114 GMT)
APEX, North Carolina (CNN) -- A letter found in a cave in Afghanistan congratulating a man on obtaining his U.S. pilot's license led authorities Wednesday to arrest a Tanzanian native living in North Carolina, U.S. government officials told CNN Wednesday.
The man is identified as Issaya Nombo, described as a Tanzanian national in his early 40s, who is a Roman Catholic. He was arrested Monday, along with his roommate, on immigration charges, the sources said.
The arrest marks the first time someone has been arrested based on material found in U.S. searches of Afghanistan caves.
Officials said there is no apparent link between Nombo and Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda terror network. Instead, investigators said they believe he may have been targeted as a possible recruit.
ISSAYA NOMBO
• Arrested April 15, 2002 on immigration charges
• Name was found on congratulatory letter in an Afghan cave
• Entered U.S. in May 2001 on valid visa that expired in August 2001
• No link established between Nombo and al Qaeda
• Not known where letter was found
• Authorities holding Nombo in undisclosed location
The letter congratulated Nombo for completing U.S. flight training and obtaining a U.S. pilot's license.
He is being held on immigration charges for overstaying his student visa. He entered the United States last May and the visa expired last August, the sources said.
Authorities identified the roommate as Chikele Gideon, who allegedly overstayed his visa. His visa was granted in July 2001 and expired in October.
Both men were arrested at the same undisclosed location, the sources said. In addition to the alleged visa violations, the men allegedly had counterfeit Social Security cards on them, the sources said.
Apex is a town of about 20,000 people in central North Carolina, just southwest of the state capital of Raleigh.
--CNN National Correspondent Susan Candiotti contributed to this report. |
