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Suspected Mastermind of Pearl Kidnapping Arrested

Aired February 12, 2002 - 06:45   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: We want to go live to Ben Wedeman in Karachi, Pakistan right now. We understand there has been an arrest there. Ben, tell us about it.

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, that's right. Carol, just a little while ago we heard from the Pakistani police that Sheikh Omar Saeed, one of the chief suspects in the kidnapping of "Wall Street Journal" reporter Daniel Pearl has been arrested in the city of Lahore. That's in northeastern Pakistan. Now the police have been looking for Mr. Saeed for quite some time. They believe that once they find him, it will not be long before they will be able to extract the information from him as to where the kidnappers are holding Daniel Pearl.

Not much more information regarding his arrest, but certainly the police have been saying for quite some time here that he is the key figure, the so called ring leader, the mastermind of the kidnappers. And that once they find him, they are confident it won't be long before Daniel Pearl is free again. But we'll have to wait and see -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Do you know where they'll bring him from Lahore?

WEDEMAN: Our understanding is he will be handed over to the provincial police in Karachi. This is the Sindh province. And that he will be brought here to help in the investigations. Precisely what he will be charged with, where he will be held, is still unclear. But, certainly, because the investigation is focused on the city of Karachi, because the police do believe that Mr. Pearl is somewhere in this huge city of 14 million, they want Mr. Saeed here to help in the investigations -- Carol.

COSTELLO: I know that three suspects were in court this morning in relation to Daniel Pearl. Did the have anything or did they give police any information leading to the arrest of Mr. Saeed?

WEDEMAN: Well certainly they did give the information that pinpointed Mr. Saeed as the prime suspect. What happened in their case is apparently one of them had a computer in his possession on which was found -- were found the two e-mails and the several photographs of Mr. Pearl in captivity. They told the police that they received those e-mails and those photographs directly from Sheikh Omar Saeed. And once they divulged that information is when things began to fall into place, when the police became increasingly focused on the role of Sheikh Omar Saeed.

Now it's worth mentioning that Sheikh Omar Saeed has a history of involvement in kidnapping. He was arrested in the early 1990's in India for involvement in the kidnapping of British and American tourists there. He was released five years later as part of a deal to end the hijacking of an Indian Airlines jet. He was released. It is believed that he eventually ended up in Afghanistan, but his whereabouts have been located in recent days somewhere in Pakistan. They narrowed it down to Lahore, and it appears today they have, in fact, brought him into custody -- Carol.

COSTELLO: And, of course, we're all hoping they get information out of him as soon as possible, if he has it. Any word of Daniel Pearl's whereabouts?

WEDEMAN: None whatsoever. There's only the belief -- and it's not apparently based upon any communications with the kidnappers -- they believe he is somewhere in Karachi. But, of course, Karachi is a very big city, 14 million people. No one really knows where he is. Or at least the police aren't telling us. But the focus, of course, is Karachi itself -- Carol.

COSTELLO: All right. Ben Wedeman, reporting live for us from Karachi this morning. And, again, the alleged mastermind behind the kidnapping of Daniel Pearl now in police custody in Pakistan. There is a picture of Mr. Saeed right now. He has just been arrested in Lahore, which is in northeastern Pakistan. And we understand from Ben Wedeman he will be brought to Karachi. Of course, we'll keep you posted on this throughout the day. No sign unfortunately from Daniel Pearl just yet.

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