he FBI has detained three Trenton-area men — one of whom was seen carrying a plastic bag holding several letters — and has searched two apartments in its probe of anthrax attacks, authorities said yesterday.Posted on 11/04/2001 2:02:44 AM PST by sarcasm
he FBI has detained three Trenton-area men — one of whom was seen carrying a plastic bag holding several letters — and has searched two apartments in its probe of anthrax attacks, authorities said yesterday.
The apartments are near the post office thought to be the sole source of the nation's anthrax contamination.
 |
 |
| Plastic gloves are a necessity for the modern postal worker. |
However, the FBI said it had found no direct link between the anthrax poisonings and the apartment raids, the latest of which took place Friday.
"At this point, we have no information that links the two searches," FBI spokeswoman Sandra Carroll said yesterday. "I can't be more specific or elaborate beyond that."
Neighbors said that one of the apartments had been under surveillance for several days. And one of the neighbors said he called police Monday to report a series of suspicious circumstances.
The neighbor, who asked not to be identified, told The Associated Press he saw one of the men now in federal custody carrying a "Ziploc bag" with the letters. He said the man was holding it away from his body and "placed it real slow" onto the passenger seat of his car.
The neighbor said FBI agents questioned him hours after he called Trenton police. He said the agents already knew the suspect's name and where he lived, and they asked questions about his routine.
Two of the men were detained Monday and the third was picked up Friday.
Carroll declined to detail Friday's search, except to say agents targeted the Trenton apartment. She had no details about the other apartment search.
"It was while we were conducting the anthrax investigation that we obtained this information," she said.
Not Charged
Carroll said there were other occupants at the apartment, but they were not detained. Some witnesses reported that four Middle Eastern men lived there. Neighbors said one was the brother of the man in detention.
"Until we know something more definitively, it would be premature to jump to any conclusions," Carroll said.
The man taken into custody Friday was not charged by the FBI, but he was turned over to the Immigration and Naturalization Service.
In Washington yesterday, a suspicious, handwritten envelope delivered to the Treasury Department was isolated for testing.
Michele Davis, a Treasury spokeswoman, said the letter was found by workers sorting through a three-week backlog of mail. The address was handwritten and the letter bore the same Trenton postmark as anthrax-tainted letters sent to Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle (D-S.D.), NBC news anchor Tom Brokaw and the New York Post.
President Bush sought yesterday to calm a nation increasingly jittery about the anthrax outbreak, which he called a "second wave of terrorist attacks upon our country."
In his weekly radio address, the President praised the efforts of public officials to fight the disease, but he acknowledged the FBI still doesn't know who sent the deadly germs.
He warned people to be careful opening mail as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention continued to hunt for clues in the death of a New York hospital worker.
"Our folks have pretty much been working around the clock," a CDC spokesman said.
Bush previously left updating the public on the anthrax outbreak mainly to cabinet members and Homeland Security Director Tom Ridge.
Yesterday's radio address appeared to be a response to concerns about whether the administration was acting aggressively enough.
"We are working to protect people based on the best information available," the President said. "And as we deal with this new threat, we are learning new information every day."
Bush promised to "share the confirmed and credible information we have" with the public, but there was little of that available yesterday.
* * *
Frightening Trail of Attacks
President Bush called the anthrax attacks a "second wave of terrorism," but no new cases were identified yesterday.
Contracted Anthrax:
Precautions:
Original Publication Date: 11/4/01
However, the FBI said it had found no direct link between the anthrax poisonings and the apartment raids, the latest of which took place Friday.
"At this point, we have no information that links the two searches," FBI spokeswoman Sandra Carroll said yesterday. "I can't be more specific or elaborate beyond that."
Um....that's a little hard to believe, isn't it? Shouldn't the FBI know why they raided an apartment? Or is the 'official reason' just an immigration raid?
Gee, you don't suppose the leftist press lied to us, do you? Nah, couldn't be. Left wingers always tell the truth.
It's impossible to tell for sure from the way this is written, but it reads to me as though there may be another set of letters mailed last weekend or last Monday.
This says the FBI were there to question the neighbor just hours after he notified police. That, plus the fact that they were already onto these suspects, is good news to me. Maybe they're not really as lost they'd like us to believe...
I'm sure HOPING there is a direct connection...I don't want another multi-year Unibomber wait.
Has anyone heard anything about the conditions of the other surviving victims of inhalation anthrax?
No worry here-let's go to the mall.
Three-week backlog. I wonder if that means it was postmarked the same day as the Daschle letter -- Oct. 9th that was, wasn't it? That would presumably mean it has the same dangerous form of anthrax. I wonder how many other letters they mailed that day.
Good point! Ask the liberals why. We dont want to hurt anyones feelings!!Thats the liberal response. Only when their own dumb asses are in trouble do they say "Do something".
And as far as I'm concerned, anyone detained for questioning about terrorism should NOT have the protection of the fifth amendment. Additionally, torture should be allowed to obtain information when national interests are at stake!!
Yeah me too. The only problem there is that I mailed my baloney sandwich!!
The man taken into custody Friday was not charged by the FBI, but he was turned over to the Immigration and Naturalization Service.
I wonder where this is going to lead us?
Now, now. Don't you realize the fallout will travel around the world and kill all the babies. Wait.. That was the other canned liberal response I've been collecting. Just a minute, I'll find it...This is not a war on Islam....No, thats not it..Bear with me...We have not declared...F$%k! Just wait, they will be along to explain why we can't act to protect ourselves.
I can't tell for sure, but I believe it's the same apartment building or complex. It sounds to me that they became aware of the second apartment after further investigating the one they raided on Friday. It sounds like there may have been too many in this cell to be in one apartment, so they had at least two. It could also be that what we are seeing is 2 apartments of men working together but living separately based on the identity of their particular terrorist group.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.