Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Live At Daybreak
FBI Officials In Pakistan Hoping to Unravel Photo Mystery
Aired January 03, 2003 - 06:07 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: FBI officials are in Pakistan this morning, hoping to unravel a photo mystery. A jeweler in Lahore, Pakistan says his picture was mistakenly posted as one of five men wanted by federal officials in the U.S. So, the search is on for the men believed to have entered the country illegally.
We get more now from our Jeanne Meserve.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEANNE MESERVE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): FBI agents are now in Lahore, Pakistan, but the bureau says it does not know when an interview with Mohammed Asghar will take place.
Asghar is the Pakistani jeweler who bears an uncanny resemblance to a photo identified by the FBI as being of Mustafa Khan Owasi, one of five men authorities believe may have tried to enter the U.S. illegally on Christmas Eve.
Asghar says he can vouch for his whereabouts.
MOHAMMED ASGHAR, PAKISTANI JEWELER (through translator): I'm here, and they are saying that I'm 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: Asghar says he doesn't have a clue of how the FBI got his picture, but Asghar once tried to enter Britain with forged travel documents. And sources tell CNN the information that led to the FBI photos came from Michael John Hamdani, arrested in Canada two months ago on charges of running a passport and travelers' checks scam. Hamdani is also wanted in New York on forgery-related charges dating back to 1996.
Authorities still do not know how the five men might have gotten into the country, but a law enforcement source tells CNN there is a distinct possibility, but no hard evidence, that they were smuggled in through the St. Regis Mohawk Indian Reservation, which straddles the New York-Ontario border.
While the photo flap continues, the FBI has not put any new names and photos on its Web site, something that had been expected.
Jeanne 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 - 06:07 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: FBI officials are in Pakistan this morning, hoping to unravel a photo mystery. A jeweler in Lahore, Pakistan says his picture was mistakenly posted as one of five men wanted by federal officials in the U.S. So, the search is on for the men believed to have entered the country illegally.
We get more now from our Jeanne Meserve.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEANNE MESERVE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): FBI agents are now in Lahore, Pakistan, but the bureau says it does not know when an interview with Mohammed Asghar will take place.
Asghar is the Pakistani jeweler who bears an uncanny resemblance to a photo identified by the FBI as being of Mustafa Khan Owasi, one of five men authorities believe may have tried to enter the U.S. illegally on Christmas Eve.
Asghar says he can vouch for his whereabouts.
MOHAMMED ASGHAR, PAKISTANI JEWELER (through translator): I'm here, and they are saying that I'm 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: Asghar says he doesn't have a clue of how the FBI got his picture, but Asghar once tried to enter Britain with forged travel documents. And sources tell CNN the information that led to the FBI photos came from Michael John Hamdani, arrested in Canada two months ago on charges of running a passport and travelers' checks scam. Hamdani is also wanted in New York on forgery-related charges dating back to 1996.
Authorities still do not know how the five men might have gotten into the country, but a law enforcement source tells CNN there is a distinct possibility, but no hard evidence, that they were smuggled in through the St. Regis Mohawk Indian Reservation, which straddles the New York-Ontario border.
While the photo flap continues, the FBI has not put any new names and photos on its Web site, something that had been expected.
Jeanne 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.
