2 men arrested in Roanoke; suspected of false identity [Remember the Dam Photographers?]

Roanoke Times ^

[AppyPappy]

2 men arrested in Roanoke; suspected of false identity

The FBI had been searching for the men after they were seen taking pictures of a dam in Tennessee.

By SHAWNA MORRISON THE ROANOKE TIMES

Two men who were wanted by the FBI for allegedly using false information to obtain Virginia driver's licenses were arrested in Roanoke on Monday.

One of the brothers had been seen taking pictures of a Tennessee dam early Sunday morning, raising the suspicion of authorities.

Ahmed Helmy Mostafa, also known as Ahmed Mohammed Elsakaan or Ahmed Mohammed Helmy Elsakaan, and an unidentified woman were spotted taking pictures of Norris Dam, a hydroelectric station about 20 miles north of Knoxville, between 4 and 5 a.m. Sunday. The pair was questioned by a Tennessee Valley Authority police officer, but they couldn't be detained because their actions were not illegal.

[muggs]

Do you really believe this?

[steve in DC]

"throw the bastards out of my country NOW!!!".

How can you throw them out? They have drivers licenses and they probably registered to vote when they applied for the licenses. < /sarcasm >

I am waiting for the next bunch of bumper stickers to crop up. "I'M AN ILLEGAL ALIEN AND I VOTE!"

[sneakypete]

The day that a cop cannot detain you for anything seems to be something of a utopia. Cops brag about being able to make your life miserable if and when they feel like it, regardless of your activities.

Yup,all Adolph Bush's so-called "Patriot's Act" did was make it official,and make it federal. But that's ok. He has a "R" behind his name,and he's not getting any blowjobs from interns. We need to focus on the important things here,like the two examples above. Plus,he thumps a bible with the best of them! NOBODY fakes sincerity like Bubba Bush.

[twigs]

I remember just after 9/11 that an abandoned car was found in Roanoke that was suspected at first to be related to the terrorists. Did anything ever come of that investigation? Stay safe!

[The Red Zone]

The "that affect interstate commerce" B.S., about things whose actual interstate effect is an emanation of a penumbra of a de minimis, is a cancer of the Supreme Court which has been going on for decades.

[Mudboy Slim]

Whazzup with SW Virginny?! Last year it was that psycho college student going on a shooting spree before being brought under control by gun-wielding patriots, now this!! Must be all that I-81 construction bringing in the bad element...MUD

[AppyPappy]

[sneakypete]

Police should always have an unmarked .22 throw down!

Don't worry. If Bubba-2 is re-elected,things like that won't be needed. "Suspicion" will be a actual federal crime.

[AppyPappy]

And the shooting was a foreigner as well.

Did you see what was happening at your alma mater? Woman basketball player dissing the Anthem.

[RightOnline]

"They were probably on a porno shoot for the blind. Yeah,it's a small market,but there's not much competition."

LOL!!!!!!!

........but oooooooooooooooooo.......the audio.....................

[sneakypete]

Uh, it's a false ID. Yeah, that should be a felony.

It's ok with you that it's a FEDERAL felony?

[Mudboy Slim]

"Did you see what was happening at your alma mater? Woman basketball player dissing the Anthem."

No way!! SHEEEEEESH...I'll haveta look that up and hassle Casteen AGAIN!!

Nutjobs everywhere...MUD

[sneakypete]

If it is interstate, it's a federal matter.

Ahhh,I see. Didn't the feral gooberment use this same excuse to try to overturn the second amendment? They DO use it to control the way firearms are shipped.

Having said that,the false ID they were caught with was a state drivers license. Is there ANYTHING left that is only under the domain of the individual states,or do the states now need a full-time federal babysitter? Maybe we should just fire all our state employees,remove all our state politicians from office,and have our whole state become a ward of the feral gooberment?

If you're happy and you know it,clank your chains,
If you're happy and you know it,clank your chains,.....

[sneakypete]

What happened on 9-11 was the EXCUSE Bubba-2 used to spring his new Office of Reich Security and his so-called "Patriots Act" on us. He had it already typed up and ready to go,complete right down to the new director on 9-10. The fact that he presented all this within a day or two is proof of this,and this is the straw that broke the camel's back for me. Then there were the sweetheart deals with China,his allowing the bin Laden family from Boston to escape the country,his blaming Hussein for the acts of his buddies in Saudi Arabia,etc,etc,etc. He is scum just like Clinton,and needs to be impeached.

[AppyPappy]

The 2nd Amendment is a federal matter, not a state matter.

C'mon Pete. You wail about Ashcroft hiding under your bed and reading your girlie mags but when the next attack comes, you'll be the first one to wail "What happened to Homeland Security?".

[AppyPappy]

Yeah yeah yeah. And after Y2K, we'll all be in the dark.

[JDGreen123]

Here is the Tennessee end of the story from Knoxville WATE TV:

Feds Investigate Suspicious Activity at Norris Dam

March 3, 2003

By ADRIAN MACLEAN

Knoxville - WATE 6 News Reporter

ANDERSON COUNTY (WATE) -- Federal investigators are looking into more suspicious activity in East Tennessee involving unidentified men taking pictures.

A man and a woman were stopped, but not detained, by TVA police at Norris Dam just before 5:00 a.m. Sunday. The two were apparently taking pictures.

Police say the two weren't doing anything illegal. But officers didn't know that the man was wanted in Virginia, along with his brother.

FBI agents arrested the brother who was wanted, Hatem Elsakaan, Monday afternoon at the Greyhound terminal in Roanoke, Virginia.

Authorities say they continue to search for Ahmed Mostafa, who's also wanted on fraudulent ID charges.

Both Mostafa and Elsakaan have worked at Knoxville malls.

The FBI discovered Mostafa was wanted for fraudulently producing identification cards by running his name through the NCIC computer system, a database of criminal information maintained by the FBI.

Mostafa was released by TVA police because early Sunday morning, the NCIC system was down for maintenance.

The manager of the Norris Dam marina, Steve Pemberton, tells 6 News he saw flashing lights at the dam Sunday when he couldn't sleep. "I saw a white light, a flash. I was watching it and it flashed about three or four times. I thought it might be a TVA patrol car but normally they don't have white lights."

Pemberton also says he saw a man taking pictures at the marina a few days earlier. "I came out of my house and I noticed a yellow car that came in the parking lot and a man got out and took some pictures of the dam. I thought it was kind of unusual because it really wasn't a good view of anything."

TVA officers say they alerted the FBI about Sunday's picture taking because of the early morning hour.

Local FBI investigators say Mostafa may be driving a green 1999 Ford Mustang GT with a Tennessee license plate, DLM982.

If you see the car, please call the Knoxville branch of the FBi at (865)-544-0751.

The incident comes days after reports of suspicious incidents at Covenant Health headquarters and St. Mary's Hospital in Knoxville. Those incidents also involved unidentified people taking pictures, or asking permission.

WATE Knoxville

[Gwaihir]

So how effective do you think we will be at resisting terrorism with each state running an independant anti-terror program? Wow! 50 separate efforts! Great idea Pete. Will they be allowed to share information under your program? Somehow I doubt it.

[AppyPappy]

Yeah, blowing up a dam wouldn't hurt anyone. We should suspect people just because they are Middle Eastern and taking pictures of dams. It's just a coincidence that ALL the terrorists on 9/11 were ME's.

[JDGreen123]

Tennessee has one of the worst driver's license setups around. The former Governor and our Legislature relaxed rules so that you can get a license with almost zero proof of identification. It has become so bad that some states refuse to take a Tennessee license as valid I.D. Last year we had 4 Muslims arrested in Memphis and a DMV employee mysteriously murdered. One of the Muslims had visited thee World Trade Center a couple of weeks before 9-11.