SCMP: Mon 17th - HK terror link as 5 held in Macau
HK terror link as 5 held in Macau
HARALD BRUNING in Macau and AGENCIES
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Under investigation: The arrests were made after the United States Consulate in Hong Kong submitted a list of names to the Macau Security Intelligence Unit. SCMP photo
Five men were arrested in Macau last night following last week's terrorist attacks in America, and documents were seized carrying instructions for raids on US targets in Hong Kong and Macau, sources said.
Sources close to the Macau investigation said the papers, seized from two suitcases, showed the targets would be attacked if the US launched military action against Afghanistan. A Macau government spokesman added that all the men arrested were from Pakistan.
A third source said the arrests were made after the United States Consulate in Hong Kong submitted a list of names to the Macau Security Intelligence Unit. The list was also given to the SAR Government.
The source said: "The five men had been arrested for their suspected involvement with groups that could be connected with last week's terrorist attacks in the United States."
Two of the suspects were arrested when officers from the unit raided a room at the Lisboa Hotel shortly after 8.30pm. Two were held near the hotel. The fifth was held after officers broke into a flat near the Royal Hotel.
Detectives were seen taking away two small suitcases, a travel bag and a pile of papers from the flat. Bomb-disposal experts later used a robot to open the suitcases and took out documents.
The anti-terrorist operation was continuing at the mainland border early today.
A spokeswoman for the Hong Kong Security Bureau last night refused to confirm if it had received a list of names, saying officials would not comment on operational matters. However, she said the SAR Government was actively co-operating with several countries in the fight against terrorism.
After meeting US Secretary of State Colin Powell in Washington last Thursday, Chief Secretary Donald Tsang Yam-kuen said he had received no specific request for help in the aftermath of the terror attacks.
It is understood SAR police investigated the same information given to the Macau Government by the US consulate in Hong Kong, but a spokeswoman for the Hong Kong police refused to comment.
The consulate in Hong Kong announced last night it would be closed today. A decision to reopen would be made at a later date. "The consulate is closed to assess the current security posture in light of the worldwide caution issued on September 12, 2001," an official statement said.
American citizens who require emergency assistance should call 2523 9011.
Meanwhile, in the US law enforcement officers made a third arrest in the widening international investigation into last Tuesday's attacks on the Pentagon and World Trade Centre.
Federal Bureau of Investigation agents backed by local police raided a flat in Jersey City, a New Jersey suburb across the Hudson River from New York.
An unidentified male was taken into custody on suspicion of direct involvement in the plot to strike the World Trade Centre towers and the Pentagon, law enforcement officials said.
It is understood that he is of the same Middle Eastern background as the 19 men the FBI has identified as hijackers.
Justice Department officials warned that more arrests were likely to follow within days as the biggest manhunt in US history intensifies. "We are at a point where there will be additional and more frequent warrants," said Justice Department spokeswoman Mindy Tucker. About 100 people are now being sought for possible information.
The man's arrest follows the apprehension of another Middle Eastern man in New York on Friday who was carrying a fake pilot's licence and a man in Hamburg, Germany, shortly after the terrorist attacks on Tuesday.
Hamburg was the long-time home of Mohammed Atta, thought to be the pilot of one of the planes that hit the World Trade Centre and the man the FBI believed may have been a leader among the hijackers.
A further 25 people are in custody in New York under suspicion of a range of unrelated immigration violations but are also facing questioning related to the attacks.
Separately, the Department of Justice will ask Congress this week to strengthen its arsenal of investigative weapons against suspected terrorists as it hunts the perpetrators, Attorney-General John Ashcroft said. It would seek expanded rights to detain foreigners suspected of plotting attacks on US soil, to wiretap phones of suspects and track money laundering that finances their networks, he said.
