Terrorist threat in Naples, FL...

[Spy38W 0]

So I woke up late this morning, checked my email, and one of my friends was freaking out about a terrorist thing that happened pretty close to me. I still don't really know what is going on, but have been watching bomb squad robots searching the two cars for the past hour.

-------------------From The News------------------------

Three men remained in custody just before noon today, being questioned by the FBI and local authorities, as the specter of a possible terrorist threat came home again to Southwest Florida.

The three people in custody have not been cooperative with authorities, Sheriff Don Hunter said at a late morning press conference.

Hunter said the men were “comfortable” while being held in a van at an undisclosed location. He also said the men “really aren’t that cooperative” and that “there has been some conflicting information given” during questioning.

The men were caught around midnight by Collier County Sheriff’s Office deputies, who were on high alert following a warning from Georgia officials. The men were allegedly overheard talking about a possible terrorist attack while at a restaurant in Georgia.

Sheriff’s bomb-sniffing dogs were brought to two vehicles along the highway shortly after midnight and alerted to material in both vehicles, officials said. Live television shots at 7:15 a.m. showed explosive charges being used to blast open what appeared to be a backpack taken from one of the vehicles.

The emergency alert from Georgia authorities said the men, possibly of Middle Eastern background, had been heard talking about explosives and making Sept. 13 a worse day than the day of terrorist attacks on the United States on Sept. 11, 2001.

E.J. Picolo of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement said the three men have been identified and have given authorities some information that is now being checked by federal agents. Asked about the men’s immigration status, Picolo said that trio has “legal” status in the United States.

The men were caught around midnight by Collier County Sheriff’s Office deputies, who were on high alert following a warning from Georgia officials. The men were allegedly overheard talking about a possible terrorist attack while at a restaurant in Georgia.

The three men were stopped after one of the cars “blew through” the toll plaza. With deputies already on alert for the vehicles, Picolo said the first vehicles were stopped eight miles east of the toll plaza.

Hunter said one CCSO deputy was stationed at the Naples toll plaza of Alligator Alley, the toll portion of I-75 that links Collier County to Florida’s east coast. The deputy was on station because of the emergency alert. Deputies determined that the vehicle was the one in the emergency alert and brought at least one canine team to the scene at the 92 mile marker, eight miles east of the toll plaza.

The three people in custody have not been cooperative with authorities, Hunter said at a late morning press conference.

Hunter said the men were “comfortable” while being held in a van at an undisclosed location. He also said the men “really aren’t that cooperative” and that “there has been some conflicting information given” during questioning.

The terrorist threat is not the first homeland security issue to roost in Southwest Florida. Several hijackers in the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks trained in south Florida, including at a flight school in Southwest Florida.


The Associated Press reported that the Georgia Bureau of Investigation issued the advisory Thursday after a woman in Calhoun, Ga., in the northwestern part of that state, told police there that she had overheard three men of Middle Eastern descent discussing terrorist plans Wednesday at a restaurant. The Georgia woman said the men were talking about amounts of explosives and warned that Americans would “cry on 9/13,” said Miami Police Lt. Bill Schwartz, quoting from the Georgia advisory

http://www.naplesnews.com/02/09/naples/13alley-am3.htm

--
Hook high, flare on time

[kingbunky 3]

more on cnn here.

"Hang on a sec, the young'uns are throwin' beer cans at a golf cart."
MB4252 TDS699
killing threads since 2001

[PhillyKev 0]

Hopefully all terrorists will continue to be as stupid as these guys who talked loudly about their plans in public (in English..duh) and blew through a toll booth with explosives in their car. What braniacs.

Let's not forget about Richard Rede. The guy with the explosives in his shoes. Not only could he not get the fuse lit, but the type of explosive he had packed in his shoe wouldn't ignite without an electrical charge and probably would have succeeded in blowing his foot off and just about nothing else.

[Skyrad 0]

Here is the Yahoo news version.
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&cid=519&ncid=519&e=1&u=/ap/threat_florida
i'm all for stoping terror attacks but this sounds a little like xenophobic paranoia. They say they are Med students on their way to a confrence, no explosives found, no terrorist connections, and at least two of them are Americans!

When an author is too meticulous about his style, you may presume that his mind is frivolous and his content flimsy.
Lucius Annaeus Seneca

[Skyrad 0]

'No explosives were found in the vehicle'
'The second car pulled up at the scene -- about eight miles east of the western toll booth at Naples'
'Government sources say the men are U.S. citizens'
'the men were apparently headed to a medical conference in Miami'
'No information linking them to terrorism has been found. '
Call this a story??????????????????

When an author is too meticulous about his style, you may presume that his mind is frivolous and his content flimsy.
Lucius Annaeus Seneca

[PhillyKev 0]

That is weird...but why did they blow through the toll booth when they saw a cop there?

[Skyrad 0]

I must be missing that bit but I can't find it anywhere on the CNN report or the Yahoo one. It says that they pulled over 8mile past the toll booth. BTW I agree Richard Read has to go down in history as the most stupid terrorist wanabe in history.

When an author is too meticulous about his style, you may presume that his mind is frivolous and his content flimsy.
Lucius Annaeus Seneca

[PLFXpert 0]

Something in a backpack was detinated by local authorities. It was on our local news this morning in Atlantic Beach, Fl. The men are in custody. No worries.

Here is the story from my local news website:

Terror Threat Closes Fla. Highway

By TAL ABBADY
Associated Press Writer

NAPLES, Fla. (AP) ? Three people in two cars were detained Friday 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 Shoney's restaurant in Calhoun, Ga., 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 one 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?''

She said the men talked about going to Miami and ``bringing it down,'' though she wasn't sure what ``it'' meant.

``What she reported would lead a reasonable person to believe a criminal act was pending,'' said Vernon Keenan, acting director of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.

The Georgia agency issued an advisory for the men's cars, and the cars were pulled over in Florida early Friday after one ran a toll booth on Interstate 75, authorities said. Bomb-sniffing dogs alerted authorities to material in both cars, but no explosives were immediately found, said E.J. Picolo of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.

A law enforcement official in Washington, who spoke only on condition of anonymity, said that authorities had not found a terrorist connection and that the three men appeared to be medical students going to a medical conference in Miami.

The official said the men's nationalities are Jordanian, Iranian and Pakistani, and at least two are naturalized citizens.

``Right now, it's not clear there is any connection to anything else going on,'' White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said.

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. One of the cars was later moved but the second car was still being searched at noon.

``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 were legally in the country, but he would not provide further information about them. The three were being detained but had not been arrested, he said.

The cars, both with Illinois license plates, remained on Interstate 75, and the highway remained closed 11 1/2 hours after the cars were stopped.

One plate number, released by Florida authorities, was registered two brothers who live in Hanover Park, a Chicago suburb, but one of the brothers on Friday said he didn't have the plate number and knew nothing about the car in Florida. Information about the second plate was not released.

FBI spokeswoman Carrie McCune in Chicago said five federal agency were involved in the investigation. She wouldn't release further information.

The alert issued in Florida for the two cars said, ``The men discussed celebrating in Chicago on 9/11 when everyone else was in mourning.''

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 interstate is the main east-west route across the Everglades, running from Naples to Fort Lauderdale.

[Skyrad 0]

Well, I've checked on CNN, Yahoo, Reuters, and the BBC. All of them say that no explosives were found. Its standard practice to carry out controled explosions on suspect packages, but that doesn't mean theres any explosives inside them. Here in the UK we had loads of controled detonations of suspect packages over the years. Sometimes a 'wheelbarrow' is used with a shotgun on it to blast the suspect package. This quote is from the BBC world news service.
'The BBC's Justin Webb in Washington says there have been a number of similar incidents in recent days, but so far they have all turned out to be innocent misunderstandings or mistakes.'
I think this may well turn out to be yet another one. As for them still being in custody (if they are) thats not really suprising considering the amount of time needed to carry out a full search of their homes work places and hangouts.

When an author is too meticulous about his style, you may presume that his mind is frivolous and his content flimsy.
Lucius Annaeus Seneca

[bmcd308 0]

Quote

He said the people pulled over were uncooperative and refused to immediately allow a search.

Bother anyone else?

----------------------------------
www.jumpelvis.com

[wmw999 2,589]

What, that they refused, or that it bothers someone that they refused? There's that whole nasty issue of probable cause and rights. They apply to all of us. We can choose to cooperate, or choose not to. Neither incriminates us, but not cooperating can make things take a lot longer. Which is a consequence, as it should be.
From what I've heard, the main charge right now is complete unmitigated stupidity (if the conversation was accurately reported), and driving while of perceived Middle Eastern origin.

There is nothing more dangerous than breaking a basic safety rule and getting away with it. It removes fear of the consequences and builds false confidence. (tbrown)

[PhillyKev 0]

You sure it wasn't Clay? Actually this subject came up in another thread and a number of us voiced the opinion that we wouldn't give the police consent to search our cars without a warrant.

[JohnJug 0]

Ok, not to make light of possible terrorism or anything, but does anyone else think that this:

Quote

Live television shots at 7:15 a.m. showed explosive charges being used to blast open what appeared to be a backpack taken from one of the vehicles

would make a great excuse for not having your homework in on time?
"Really professor, I wrote my report, but the cops blew it up."

[happythoughts 0]

All through the 80's, there as an anti-Castro group which kept going around blowing stuff up in Miami. One time the FBI was tailing a car that had 100 pipe bombs in a box in the trunk. They did a car switch and the FBI lost the car. They scrambled around and finally found them again. They were the only 4 guys driving around at 3:00am wearing camos.
A cop in Miami stops a car. "Sir do you have any guns or weapons ?" "No" "Well don't you think you should get some ?"
True story: I had a customer who was a successful attorney in Miami. He lived one or two blocks from the mayor. He came home one night and found his door open. The 2 guys inside took his wallet and split. He said he complained to the mayor and the mayor said he had been robbed 3 months before also.

[Shark 0]

There are some things you just don't do or say. Yeah, it was probably a case of paranoia, but then again, would you brag about hijacking a plane in an airport? Not many people would mention that they intend to rob a bank while standing in the teller line either.

In these times you just don't say things like that; jokingly or not. Especially in Georgia and from middle eastern/arab ethnicity. Yes, it sucks that they were detained, but it probably wouldn't have been that bad if they had not blew through the toll booth.

[freeflir29 0]

www.cnn.com/2002/US/09/13/alligator.alley/index.html


You guys MIGHT want to read this.....