Posted on 09/10/2004 5:30:51 PM PDT by blam
Tanzanians not linked to Brazil terror plan
September 10 2004 at 02:43PM
Rio de Janeiro - Two Tanzanians have been arrested on immigration charges near a cache of photographs of the United States Consulate, prompting interrogation about whether they were planning a terrorist attack, a newspaper reported. The US Embassy and the Brazil's Federal Police said they did not believe the men were connected with the photos.
Salim Nassir Salim and David Jhon Pama were arrested in Rio on September 1 on immigration violations and are still in detention, the Federal Police said in a statement.
A press officer at the court where they were charged said police had found photographs of the US Consulate building in Rio de Janeiro at the time of the arrest.
But the federal police statement said there were no link between the photographs and the Tanzanians, who could face deportation.
The release, also placed on the police department's web page, said the Federal Police opened an investigation to determine "the full extent and all the facts related to those photographs". It was not clear if further inquiries might establish any connection between the two Tanzanians and the photos.
The US Embassy said it did not believe the individuals were planning a terrorist attack.
"The embassy wishes to stress the routine nature of this investigation. At this time, there is no apparent link between the two individuals arrested by the federal police and any threat to US interests. However, we are taking any necessary precautions," the US Embassy said in a statement.
Security at the consulate building in downtown Rio appeared to be tightened. Police questioned at least one photographer taking pictures of the building.
A spokesperson for Brazil's federal police in Brasilia, the capital, declined to comment further on the arrests.
State police had no comment on the report According to the Estado de Sao Paulo, one of the Brazil's most respected newspapers, the Tanzanians have been interrogated several times and the Federal Bureau of Investigations and the Central Intelligence Agency were informed about the photos.
The newspaper, citing unidentified sources at the federal and state police, said the Tanzanians had expired tourist visas and claimed they were simply tourists - not terrorists.
The paper reported that on the same day, state police searched a bathroom at the city's bus station and found an envelope containing pictures of the US Consulate with notations in English on the back describing potential vulnerabilities, Estado reported.
According to the newspaper, several witnesses linked the envelope to the Tanzanians.
State police had no comment on the report.
Tanzania does not have an embassy in Brazil. - Sapa-AP
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