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CNN Live Today

Relative of Saddam Hussein Arrested in Miami

Aired July 04, 2002 - 13:11   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.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: A man believed to have family ties with Saddam Hussein has been arrested in Florida before beginning flight lessons there.

It is a school that trained at least one of the 19 terrorist who hijacked planes on September 11. The arrested man is believed to be Iraqi leader's stepson. CNN's Susan Candiotti is in Miami to tell us more on that. Hi, there, Susan.

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Fredricka. One of the many questions surrounding this case is how it is that the stepson of Saddam Hussein, one of America's arch-enemies, could have received clearance to attend a flight school here in Miami, although, authorities acknowledge, at this time they have no information of any possible illegal motives to assign to Mohammed Saffi other than him attending flight school.

After all, after the FBI interviewed him when he arrived in Los Angeles on Monday, they let him go. They let him get on a plane to come here to Miami. He had arrived here from New Zealand in Los Angeles on Monday. And then once he was here, the FBI says they learned of his -- through overseas intelligence, learned of his connection to Saddam Hussein, and that's how they came to interview him.

But, again, they allowed him to get on a plane and proceed to Miami. At that time, INS interviewed him and discovered -- INS says -- that the man did not have the required student visa that it takes to attend a flight school here. Now, one man who was there at a motel last night in Miami when the INS and the FBI came to interview Mohammed Saffi, insists that Saffi was here legitimately.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WALLY, ASSOCIATE OF SAFFI: We are doing training with air service. On Aeroservice they have all the documents. They got the green light, the Aeroservice. I faxed them a copy of his passport. He is a New Zealand citizen.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CANDIOTTI: Excuse me -- Aeroservice, the aviation school here, is the very same one, according to the FBI, attended by one of the September 11 hijackers, Ziad Jarrah. So again, one of the many question here, why is it that the FBI apparently did not notify, according to INS, the INS in Los Angeles and keep him there? Why did they let him come on here, and why did Mr. Saffi choose the school and why at this time?

WHITFIELD: A whole lot of questions, and I have got another one for you, Susan, and you may not be able to answer it, but I'm going to throw it out for you anyway.

On his arrival into Los Angeles, then, you talked about the FBI failing to notify authorities, but now, how about the FAA? Will they be closely further scrutinizing Los Angeles security, trying to discern how it is that someone with an expired visa or someone without the proper documentation was able to land in Los Angeles and then make his way to Miami?

CANDIOTTI: Well, technically, Fredricka, the FAA would not have a participation in this particular aspect of it, because Mr. Saffi arrived on a passenger jet, and when he cleared customs he didn't need any kind of special visa, because he arrived from New Zealand, and no visa is required when you arrive from there.

Authorities say he failed to inform U.S. customs that he was intending to attend a flight school in Miami, and that, according to the INS, is one of the things that got him into trouble.

WHITFIELD: Got you. Thank you very much. Susan Candiotti from Miami.

Now we want to talk more about this particular case and the link between the man arrested and Saddam Hussein.

Joining from Baghdad is CNN's Rym Brahimi. Rym, give a better sense as to the relationship, "A" -- we are still saying his is possibly the stepson of Saddam Hussein. What more do you know more about the relationship?

RYM BRAHIMI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fredricka, Mohammed al Saffi left Iraq shortly after the Gulf War in 1991. His mother is Samira Shahbander. She is currently Saddam Hussein's second wife.

She was married to the president in the mid-'80s. That marriage was -- it's widely known here, caused very dramatic tensions within the family. But as you also know, here in Iraq, it's a very delicate issue, and any reporter working here isn't really allowed to freely discuss the personal issue -- the personal issues related to the family.

What I can tell you, though, is that before she married Saddam Hussein, Samira Shahbander, who is Mohammed al Saffi's mother, was married to his father, Nor Aldin al Saffi. He was the manager of Iraqi Airways until a few years ago, and with that man she had two sons, Mohammed, who is believed to be the person arrested in Miami, and Yasser, another son, who is believed to be still living here in Iraq.

And with the president, Saddam Hussein, she is known to have had another son, Ali, who would probably be about 15 or 16 right now, except that he is kept well out of the public eye -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right, now Rym, Mohammed Saffi was coming to the U.S., he says, to try and recertify his license to fly Boeing 747s. He was living in working in Auckland, New Zealand.

Now was he flying -- do you know about his expertise? Was he already flying such aircraft, and that's why he wanted to get recertification here in the U.S.?

BRAHIMI: These are things we really don't know here. People don't discuss this at all here in Iraq, Fredricka. It's sort of widely known that he was a flight engineer. Whether he actually flied or not is something that people don't know.

There are various rumors. Some people say he did fly before leaving Iraq. Other people say no, he was just an engineer and didn't. So this is really more of a thing of rumors than real reporting, I can tell you, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: OK, Rym Brahimi. Thank you very much for joining us from Baghdad. Appreciate it.

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