Afghan Man, Focus Of Terror Probe, Arrested With Father And 3rd Man

The Aurora, Colo. man, an Afghanistan native, who was interviewed several times by the Federal Bureau of Investigation as part of a counterterrorism investigation was arrested along with his father late Saturday, according to news reports.

The Denver Post reports that Najibullah Zazi, a 24-year old airport shuttle driver, and his father Mohammed Zazi:

... Were led away from an Aurora apartment in handcuffs tonight, the latest chapter in an ongoing federal terrorism investigation.

After three straight days of lengthy interviews with FBI counterterrorism agents, Najibullah Zazi had abruptly broken off talks Saturday.

The New York Times reports the men were arrested for making false statements to law enforcement.

Additionally, it reports:

... At least one other man was expected to be arrested in New York as officials prepared charges against all three men, the officials said.

The news came on a day of dizzying twists after Najibullah Zazi declined to sit for a fourth day of intense questioning by F.B.I. agents in Denver, choosing instead to consult with his lawyer.

A criminal complaint was expected to be filed though it was not clear how much light it would shed light on the overall terrorism investigation or spell out the charges of lying to the government. The development was a clear signal that the authorities had reached a stage in the investigation where they had decided to go ahead with some charges, rather than allowing the men to remain at large, and to figure out the scope of potential wrongdoing and terrorist activity as time went on.

Wendy S. Aiello, a spokeswoman for Arthur Folsom, the lawyer representing Mr. Zazi and his father, said both men were arrested later Saturday night.

 

NPR's Dina Temple-Raston has been following the case and has an informative piece on NPR.org written before the arrests that provides background on the investigation whose existence was made public last week with FBI raids on apartments in New York and in the Denver area.

Zazi was born in Afghanistan and lived in Pakistan before moving to the United States with his family a decade ago. He lived in the New York City borough of Queens and moved to the Denver area in January. FBI agents there had been tracking him after he made repeated trips to Pakistan and New York, officials said. When Zazi decided to rent a car and drive cross-country just before last week's anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, authorities were concerned.

Law enforcement officials also had been watching a group of Zazi's friends — a handful of other Afghans who were living in Queens and with whom Zazi stayed during a trip to New York last week. The FBI raided the apartment he stayed in and several other apartments soon after Zazi returned to Colorado. Officials said as many as 12 additional people are under surveillance in New York and Denver.

Authorities have not made public what they found in the raids. But one law enforcement source close to the investigation said they found 16 backpacks and a number of mobile phones in the Queens searches. They also found a bomb-making manual and uncovered some receipts that they have been following up on. Officials said receipts show the purchase of chemicals at home improvement stores in the Denver area. The FBI is seeking surveillance video from those stores to see if they can identify other possible suspects.

Dina was told by law enforcement sources that Zazi had admitted to explosives training at an al Qaida camp in Pakistan. But Zazi vehemently denied that in an interview a phone interview with the Denver Post Saturday morning.

One question on the minds of some observers last week was why if the case was as important as law enforcement officials claimed, there were no arrests. That question obviously no longer obtains.