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CNN Live At Daybreak
FBI Agents in Lahore, Pakistan to Interview Jeweler
Aired January 03, 2003 - 05:10 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: Well, FBI agents are in Lahore, Pakistan to interview a jeweler who says his photo was mistakenly posted as one of five men wanted in the U.S. Meanwhile, the search for the pictured men goes on in the U.S.
CNN's Jeanne Meserve has the latest now.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEANNE MESERVE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Even a senior FBI official acknowledges that Mohammed Asghar sure looks like Mustafa Khan Owasi, wanted by the FBI for questioning. But Ashgar, a jeweler in Lahore, Pakistan, says he has never been to the U.S., certainly not on the date authorities believe Owasi and four other men may have tried to enter illegally.
MOHAMMED ASGHAR: I am here and they are saying that I am in the USA. How can this be true? I don't know anything about the picture. Maybe someone gave it to them or someone had the picture on a Web site. What can I say about this? I'm here in Lahore, a resident of Pakistan. How can I be there when I'm here in Lahore?
MESERVE: The FBI is on the ground in Lahore to try to determine if Ashgar and Owasi are one and the same, and if so, how his photo showed up in their investigation. One possibility, Asghar admits to once using forged documents. Sources say information that led to the FBI photos came from Michael John Habdani (ph), arrested two months ago in Canada.
Investigators seized counterfeited travel documents, $600,000 worth of phony travelers checks and forgery equipment. Records show Habdani is also wanted in New York on forgery related charges dating back to 1996.
A former FBI official says it would be a mistake if the possible photo fraud eroded public confidence in the FBI and its information, specifically, the other four photos put out Sunday.
SKIP BRANDON, FORMER FBI COUNTERINTELLIGENCE OFFICIAL: I do not think that we would have gone public on a national and international basis without a lot of this information being vetted and carefully considered.
MESERVE: The FBI has not, however, distributed any additional names and photos, something that had been expected. Authorities still do not know how the five men might have entered the U.S., but one law enforcement source says there is a "distinct possibility" they were brought in through the St. Regis Mohawk Indian Reservation, which straddles the New York-Ontario border and has a history of smuggling. There is no concrete proof, however, that that was the route.
(on camera): Though officials say they have no evidence the men are involved in terrorism, they clearly remain of high interest. The search for them and any associates is described as widespread and ongoing. But one official adds no arrests appear imminent.
Jean Meserve, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired January 3, 2003 - 05:10 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Well, FBI agents are in Lahore, Pakistan to interview a jeweler who says his photo was mistakenly posted as one of five men wanted in the U.S. Meanwhile, the search for the pictured men goes on in the U.S.
CNN's Jeanne Meserve has the latest now.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEANNE MESERVE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Even a senior FBI official acknowledges that Mohammed Asghar sure looks like Mustafa Khan Owasi, wanted by the FBI for questioning. But Ashgar, a jeweler in Lahore, Pakistan, says he has never been to the U.S., certainly not on the date authorities believe Owasi and four other men may have tried to enter illegally.
MOHAMMED ASGHAR: I am here and they are saying that I am in the USA. How can this be true? I don't know anything about the picture. Maybe someone gave it to them or someone had the picture on a Web site. What can I say about this? I'm here in Lahore, a resident of Pakistan. How can I be there when I'm here in Lahore?
MESERVE: The FBI is on the ground in Lahore to try to determine if Ashgar and Owasi are one and the same, and if so, how his photo showed up in their investigation. One possibility, Asghar admits to once using forged documents. Sources say information that led to the FBI photos came from Michael John Habdani (ph), arrested two months ago in Canada.
Investigators seized counterfeited travel documents, $600,000 worth of phony travelers checks and forgery equipment. Records show Habdani is also wanted in New York on forgery related charges dating back to 1996.
A former FBI official says it would be a mistake if the possible photo fraud eroded public confidence in the FBI and its information, specifically, the other four photos put out Sunday.
SKIP BRANDON, FORMER FBI COUNTERINTELLIGENCE OFFICIAL: I do not think that we would have gone public on a national and international basis without a lot of this information being vetted and carefully considered.
MESERVE: The FBI has not, however, distributed any additional names and photos, something that had been expected. Authorities still do not know how the five men might have entered the U.S., but one law enforcement source says there is a "distinct possibility" they were brought in through the St. Regis Mohawk Indian Reservation, which straddles the New York-Ontario border and has a history of smuggling. There is no concrete proof, however, that that was the route.
(on camera): Though officials say they have no evidence the men are involved in terrorism, they clearly remain of high interest. The search for them and any associates is described as widespread and ongoing. But one official adds no arrests appear imminent.
Jean Meserve, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
