Posted on 08/11/2004 2:02:33 AM PDT by kattracks
Terror cops want to know whether an Elmhurst, Queens, man nabbed filming bank buildings in the South is a terrorist - or just a tourist.Kamran Akhtar, a Pakistani citizen who was ordered out of the U.S. in 1998, has been hit with immigration and other charges in North Carolina. But it's his extensive videos of bank buildings, trains, dams and government offices that spooked officials.
Akhtar's brother lashed out at authorities, saying the unemployed father of three, who also uses the name Kamran Shaikh, is a travel buff who was tripped up by overzealous cops. "It's definitely all a big misunderstanding," said Irfan Akhtar. "My brother likes making videos. It doesn't make him a terrorist."
He said his brother had this message from jail: "He wants to say: 'I'm innocent.'"
But a Charlotte, N.C., police officer is certain Kamran Akhtar was up to no good when he spotted him videotaping the city's 60-story Bank of America tower on July 20.
Akhtar, who was ordered out of the country in 1998, tried to walk away, Officer Anthony Maglione said, and gave conflicting accounts of what he was doing. "His statements were all over the place," he said yesterday.
And the red flag really went up when investigators from the North Carolina Joint Terrorism Task Force checked out what else was on Akhtar's tapes:
- Transit systems in New Orleans, Atlanta and four other Southern cities.
- The Texas governor's mansion and capitol, as well as the Mansfield Dam near Austin, Tex.
- Myriad towers in the South, including Charlotte's old Wachovia building, home to the local FBI office.
Investigators spent days questioning Akhtar and alerted law enforcement colleagues in other cities.
"We don't have the luxury of not taking it seriously," said Assistant Police Chief Rudy Landeros in Austin, who tightened security there.
Akhtar was charged Aug. 5 - in an indictment unsealed yesterday - with immigration violations and making false statements, charges that carry penalties of 10 and five years in prison, respectively, and $250,000 in fines.
The allegations and terrorist investigation came just as New York, Newark and Washington went on high alert over an alleged plot targeting financial institutions that was discovered on computers seized in Pakistan.
Charlotte Police Chief Darrel Stephens said his department has investigated other people seen suspiciously filming local landmarks. "In most cases it's tourists," he said. "This one, as it turns out, is one that requires a great deal more investigation to determine what exactly the individual was doing making the tapes."
In Washington, Homeland Security Department officials said they have no information linking Akhtar to Al Qaeda, and his name does not appear on FBI criminal databases or terror watch lists."The bottom line is, we don't know what we have here," said one department source.
Court records showed Akhtar had applied for political asylum in New York in 1992, was denied in 1997, and told to return to Pakistan in 1998. But he never did.
Irfan Akhtar said his brother loves America and bought the camcorder on July 4.
"We are not terrorists and we have nothing to hide," Irfan Akhtar said. "It's a shame that this is happening in America." The suspect met a cousin in Texas and she took him to the dam and other sites, he said.
Relatives alleged that federal agents threatened to take away the couple's three children if they do not cooperate, a tactic that terrified the family.
"We have concerns about these tactics," said Ibrahim Hooper of the Council on American-Islamic Relations. "We support law enforcement, but we have to maintain American values."
Cops everywhere have been on heightened alert for people shooting landmarks. One of the most notorious recent cases involved the deportation in June of two guards at Iran's mission in New York who were caught secretly filming city landmarks.
With Derek Rose
Originally published on August 11, 2004
bump
All touists take video of banks. Right.
And the ever popular tourist photos of transit systems.
The MARTA in Atlanta is soooo scenic!
(end/sarcasm)
This particular mutt needs to have a date real soon with a field telephone and some alligator clips.
How many thousands, tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands Akhtars are out there? How many are, or may become, terrorists, or aiders and abbettors of terrorists? Has this person been unemployed the entire time he's been in the US? What do he and his family live on? Air? Welfare? Illicit charity funds?
I've been a tourist, I love trains, I've travelled to New Orleans and back twice by train, I've never taken pictures of the train stations or subway systems I've been on, as much fun as I've found every single one of them. Except Boston, I really hate that T or whatever they call it.
Here's another thread with some more interesting info:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1189239/posts
Ack, more info here:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1189209/posts
He came in illegally via MEXICO! He's transferred tens of thousands of dollars into his wife's and children's bank accounts! And these are little kids, so they're not about to be spending the big bucks.
And yet they are quoting some NY law enforcement person who is blowing this guy and his suspicious behaviour off! If he is not up to something illegal, what can explain all of his actions? Of course, just by his many immigration violations he is a repeat offender. And it is likely that he is also guilty of income tax evasion.
If we can prove he was conspiring to commit murder and mayhem we should execute this guy. We have got to start executing these people, demostrate that we are willing to kill them where ever we find them, on the battlefield, or in Elmhurst.
He's another one who was caught completely by luck, nobody knew about this man. Maybe some here will think I am too suspicious, but I AM very suspicious of any unemployed person who can get their hands on hundreds of thousands of dollars.
its a shame something like this is happening in america.
HEY!!!!!!!!!! irfan akhtar go pound sand
the real shame is that we arent taking you losers seriously enough. i'll tell you what the world hasn't seen how vengeful we can be when the chips really begin to fall.
Yeah, right. Yawn.
The governor's mansion in Texas? An implied threat to the former governor who is now President? Today we hear that Al Qaeda want to assassinate a high ranking official, all of this is making me sick.
How does an unemployed father of three move around the country? Where does the money come from?
You'd think he'd be looking for honest work like all illegal aliens.
Or are we supporting his tourism with welfare?
My what a tangled web we weave...
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