Posted on 07/08/2002 2:46:47 PM PDT by Jean S
FBI and INS Raid Dozens of Jewelry Stores in Search for Terrorist Financiers and Immigration Violators
WASHINGTON (AP) - Federal investigators are conducting raids nationwide on jewelry stores owned by Pakistanis and others from the Middle East, hoping to break up fronts for terrorist groups or their financial backers, U.S. officials say.
The raids have taken place in several cities over the past two weeks, including Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Atlanta and New York. About 75 jewelry stores have been raided, said a law enforcement official, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Tariq Hussain, 27, a recently discharged U.S. Army mechanic whose Intrigue Jewelers kiosk in suburban Pittsburgh was searched on June 26, said FBI agents questioned him for several hours and wanted to know if he had connections to the al-Qaida terrorist network or its leader, Osama bin Laden.
"They took everything, my paperwork, bills, my computer, my checks," he said. "I told them, 'I don't have any links to anything like that.'"
The raids were not prompted by evidence of wrongdoing by all the individuals who were questioned, another U.S. official said. More than a dozen people are still in detention following the raids.
The government had acknowledged that some raids were conducted in late June, but had refused to discuss whether they were linked to efforts to fight terrorism. Some officials referred to the raids as "immigration sweeps."
The officials said the jewelry shop owners have been asked about their accounting practices and whether they send money to any foreign organizations on a regular basis. They are also asked whether they support al-Qaida or know anyone who does, the officials said.
It is unclear how businesses are being targeted for the raids. The U.S. official said the authority to conduct the raids was under seal and declined to cite the statute that makes the raids legal.
Justice Department spokesman Brian Sierra said immediately after the raids that federal agencies were "looking at illegal immigrants working at kiosks," but he refused to elaborate.
Immigration and Naturalization Service officials would not comment on the raids, except to acknowledge that an ongoing operation was underway.
The largest raids took place between June 28 and July 2. Agents swept jewelry stores in Pennsylvania, Florida, California, Alabama, Georgia and North Carolina. Since then, two smaller raids have taken place in Texas, California and Massachusetts, officials said. Most of the raids involved the Intrigue Jewelers chain of stores.
Intrigue Jewelers franchises are licensed from a Florida company, Gold Concept Inc., which lists Orlando businessman Arif Rajan as its chief officer in state records.
Calls to Gold Concept were not returned Monday. Rajan has an unlisted phone number at his home in Ocoee, Fla.
Immigration attorney Neil Rambana, who is representing three Pakistani men arrested in a raid at the Governor's Square mall in Tallahassee, Fla., said the FBI and INS were on a "fishing expedition."
"There is no proof and no one has presented any evidence that would put these people under suspicion," Rambana said in a telephone interview. "This was all about abusing people's rights in the hopes that there were a few guilty people among them."
The raids have sparked outrage among some members of Muslim communities.
"These people are being confronted and in some cases terrorized based on no evidence," said Ibrahim Hooper, a spokesman for the Council on American-Islamic Relations. "And even when the FBI says there is evidence, it is never anything anyone else is allowed to see."
In a court filing, the Justice Department has defended its right to detain people without revealing information about their identity or where they are held during terrorism investigations. The government says 74 people have been detained as part of the Sept. 11 investigation and are being held on immigration-related charges.
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Associated Press Writer David B. Caruso contributed to this report.
AP-ES-07-08-02 1714EDT
Somewhere in Gitmo or in a prison in Afghanistan someone has talked of Intrigue Jewelers...bet on it.
Feds didn't pick this chain out of the phone book..
Was this guy mentioned before???
....to which he responded yes and they let him go.
The U.S. official said the authority to conduct the raids was under seal and declined to cite the statute that makes the raids legal.
Looks like they have probable cause. Also doesnt the FBI need probable cause and a search warrent to do all of this.
The U.S. official said the authority to conduct the raids was under seal and declined to cite the statute that makes the raids legal.
Looks like they have probable cause.
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