Monday, May 13, 2002
By Carl CameronA Budget truck was pulled over in Oak Harbor, Wash., last
Tuesday near the Whidbey Island Naval Air Station and found to have traces of TNT on the gearshift and traces
of RDX plastic explosive on the steering wheel, Fox News has learned.
Traces of explosives were also
found on one of the truck's two occupants.
The FBI, the Immigration and Naturalization Service, the
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, and local police are all investigating.
Government officials
said the roadside stop was so close to the naval air station that military personnel took part in the initial
arrest and naval intelligence has also been involved in the subsequent investigation.
Shortly after
midnight on May 7, federal officials say local police pulled the vehicle over for speeding. Documents read to
Fox News indicate that the driver and passenger told local police they were delivering furniture from
California but that authorities doubted the story because of the early morning hour.
A bomb-sniffing
dog first detected explosives on one of the men and inside the truck. High-tech equipment was used later to
confirm the presence of TNT and RDX plastic explosive. Documents read to Fox News indicate that both
driver and passenger were Israeli nationals. Investigators say a roadside check of the national database of
immigration records indicated that one of the men had not entered the country legally, and the other was in
violation of his visa. Both men were taken into custody for immigration violations.
At 7:30 that
morning local police were notified that the BATF and FBI had tested the truck and found traces of explosives
on the steering wheel and gear shift.
Officials say no other charges of been filed against the driver
and passenger and an investigation is ongoing.
Authorities say records for the Budget truck do not
indicate any recent rental for the purposes of transporting explosives, which would require special permits. |