Three Pakistani men, who allegedly supplied funds to Times Square bombing suspect Faisal Shahzad, were arrested by FBI in a slew of raids across Asian-dominated suburbs, said U.S. authorities, amid reports that another person linked to the botched plot had been held in Pakistan.
Two of the three Pakistanis were arrested in Boston suburbs on Thursday and the other one in Maine, nearly two weeks after 30-year-old Pakistani-American Shahzad attempted to blow up a Nissan Pathfinder packed with explosives in the crowded Times Square.
In coordinated raids, FBI teams centred on New York's Asian-dominated suburb of Long Island, Boston suburbs and New Jersey, authorities said and claimed that the three arrested men had supplied funds to Shahzad.
U.S. Attorney-General Eric Holder later said these arrests were part of an ongoing investigation and not because of any new threat.
The arrests here came amid reports that an alleged accomplice of Shahzad had been held in Pakistan and had provided an “independent stream” of evidence linking the Pakistan Taliban to the failed May 1 Times Square attack.
Citing U.S. officials, The Washington Post said the man arrested in Pakistan had also admitted to helping Shahzad travel to the Waziristan tribal belt.
The paper quoted U.S. intelligence officials as saying that the man arrested in Pak “is believed to have a connection to the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP)”.
The men arrested in the U.S., whose identities have not been revealed, were charged with violation of immigration laws, which are administrative.
A statement from the office of U.S. Attorney for New York, Preet Bharara, said: “it was not yet clear whether the men knew how the money was going to be used.”
The New York Times cited law enforcement officials as saying the arrests did not represent a “big break” in the case, but were part of an effort to pursue leads involving the financing of the May 1 attempted bombing.
Shahzad was arrested at the John F. Kennedy airport on May 3 while trying to escape to Dubai on an Emirates flight.
Several suspects have been arrested so far in connection with the same case in Pakistan.
FBI spokeswoman Gail Marcinkiewicz assured there was no immediate threat to the public or any active plot against the U.S.
Authorities have been tracing the money trail left by Shahzad to find out if he was financed from overseas for planning the Times Square bombing.
Sources said the Pakistani men passed money to Shahzad through the informal transfer network known as hawala. Two of the arrested men had over-stayed their visa and the third one was in the process of repatriation.
Shahzad has waived his right to appear in the court daily since his arrest on charges of trying to blow up an SUV packed with gasoline and propane.
Keywords: Times Square plot, Faisal Shahzad
