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One of four Pakistani crewmen who jumped ship in a Virginia port was arrested Saturday in Texas, immigration officials said Saturday. Ahmad Salman's arrest was based on leads developed by Immigration and Naturalization Service investigators at a bus station in Norfolk, Va., agency spokesman Bill Strassberger said. Those leads took INS special agents to Philadelphia and eventually to San Antonio. After being put under brief surveillance, Salman was arrested at midday without incident at a San Antonio apartment building where he was staying with an uncle, Strassberger said. Salman was being held without bond pending further proceedings. The case prompted demands for stricter security because of reports that an immigration official improperly allowed the men to come ashore. An INS inspector failed to get authorization before granting a special waiver allowing them off the ship, according to a Justice Department official, speaking on condition of anonymity. Waivers given to foreign crewmen lacking visas must be approved by senior INS district officials. The men disappeared, though none were thought to be dangerous, INS officials said. The three others were identified as Mohammad Nazir, Adnan Ahmad and Ghulam Qadar. The disappearance was the latest embarrassment for the INS, which has been under intense scrutiny since the Sept. 11 attacks exposed problems with its methods for tracking foreigners. The Pakistanis were crewmen aboard the "Progresso," a Russian cargo ship sailing under Maltese flag that docked in Norfolk on March 15. |