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Al Qaeda Caught Smuggling Drugs?

Aired December 19, 2003 - 15:05   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.


KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Caught red-handed -- the Pentagon says the Navy has busted al Qaeda for running drugs through the Persian Gulf.
CNN's Barbara Starr broke the story this morning. She joins us now from the Pentagon with more -- Barbara.`

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Hello to you, Kyra.

Well, it was on Monday when the USS Decatur, a Navy warship, stopped a 40-foot dhow inside the Strait of Hormuz in the Persian Gulf. When the Navy crew boarded that ship, they fount something pretty unexpected, two tons of drugs with a street value of $8 to $10 million, according to the Navy. They found 54 70-pound bags of hashish.

But that was just the beginning. They looked for documentation for the crew and the cargo, couldn't find any. And now they say that at least three of the 12 crew members are believed to have ties to the al Qaeda. The Navy is not saying exactly what those ties are, but they have put out a statement, indeed, saying that they believe these men have ties to the al Qaeda and that the cargo clearly was in the possession or ownership of al Qaeda elements.

So this was a known drug smuggling route through the Persian Gulf, and sources telling us to expect more surveillance of this area in the days and weeks ahead -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right, Barbara Starr, from the Pentagon, thank you.

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 December 19, 2003 - 15:05   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Caught red-handed -- the Pentagon says the Navy has busted al Qaeda for running drugs through the Persian Gulf.
CNN's Barbara Starr broke the story this morning. She joins us now from the Pentagon with more -- Barbara.`

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Hello to you, Kyra.

Well, it was on Monday when the USS Decatur, a Navy warship, stopped a 40-foot dhow inside the Strait of Hormuz in the Persian Gulf. When the Navy crew boarded that ship, they fount something pretty unexpected, two tons of drugs with a street value of $8 to $10 million, according to the Navy. They found 54 70-pound bags of hashish.

But that was just the beginning. They looked for documentation for the crew and the cargo, couldn't find any. And now they say that at least three of the 12 crew members are believed to have ties to the al Qaeda. The Navy is not saying exactly what those ties are, but they have put out a statement, indeed, saying that they believe these men have ties to the al Qaeda and that the cargo clearly was in the possession or ownership of al Qaeda elements.

So this was a known drug smuggling route through the Persian Gulf, and sources telling us to expect more surveillance of this area in the days and weeks ahead -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right, Barbara Starr, from the Pentagon, thank you.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com