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New Mexico Company Investigated Over Explosives

Aired August 19, 2002 - 14:40   ET

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

CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: Federal agents are combing every inch of a New Mexico facility that teaches counter-terrorism training. Their focus: tons of weapons and explosives that may have been obtained illegally.
CNN's Ed Lavandera joins us from outside the school in Roswell -- Ed.

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Carol. Well behind this gate over here, this is the entrance to High Energy Access Tools, and behind here, ATF agents and U.S. Customs agents are going through this company's bunker here. What they have discovered so far is 1,000 pounds of missiles and weaponry that they say they are looking into, exactly where it has come from and tracing its background as well. As you look into this field, you notice a lot of these airplanes.

Let me give you a little bit of background exactly what you are looking here. This is basically an industrial airplane center. A lot of airplanes are brought here to be restored or stored here for an indefinite amount of time. So that is why you see so many -- a couple 747s here in the foreground, and this extends for miles and miles back over the horizon over there, as you might be able to see.

HEAT, this company, High Energy Access Tool, rents and leases this space from this industrial park here, so that is why we are here today. Just beyond those trees over there that you see along the side over there, that is where agents and ATF and Customs agents have been working over the last couple of hours. We understand they will be here throughout the week. On Thursday, the president of this company, David Hudak, was arrested on federal ammunition and immigration charges. Now a lot of details of what exactly they have been finding and what kind of connections they have found haven't emerged yet, but they have been able to tell us -- Federal authorities have been able to tell us that they haven't found any connection of terrorist activity or any kind of terrorist connection to this person. They were training a group of students here, about 25 students from what has been described to us as a counterterrorism military unit from a U.S. ally. They won't specify any more information other than that so far, but those students were here over the last couple of months, and that is what has triggered a lot of this investigation here. But the federal authorities also say at this point that those students also don't appear to have any connection yet to any kind of terrorist activity around the world. But all of this investigation continues, as I have mentioned. They will be here for another week, and the head of this -- one of spokespeople here for this company, the HEAT company, is saying that they are doing everything right, and they hope that after all the agents leave here, that their efforts here will be proven to be an honest effort.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FRANK FISH, SECURITY DIRECTOR, HEAT: They came in to check to make sure that we are in compliance with licensing and regulatory issues. If we're guilty of certain regulatory issues, we could be guilty of a felony, which could make us guilty of a few more felonies, and it kind of builds up up that way. We believe that their initial question is going to come to show that we're actually in compliance -- we believe that we are, and that once that is all cleared up, then the rest of those will all -- will go away. At least that is what we hope.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LAVANDERA: Now, officials here for this company also say that the State Department and the FBI knew full well of the students that were coming here to train for the counter terrorist activity, or the lessons that they were being taught here, they say the government knew full well what was going on behind these gates -- Carol.

LIN: All right. Thank you very much, Ed Lavandera.

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