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American Morning

America's New War: More Arrests in Global Dragnet; Stepped Up Cargo Inspections

Aired September 27, 2001 - 10:22   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.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: Now we move on to the latest on the international campaign against terrorism. There have been more arrests in the global dragnet. Joining us for a closer look is CNN's Eileen O'Connor.

Good morning, Eileen.

EILEEN O'CONNOR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Paula. Well, there were three people arrested in Central England. One of them French authorities say is of North Africa origin, who they say they wanted in connection with an alleged plot against U.S. interests in Europe, including perhaps the U.S. embassy in Paris. Here in the United States, the Justice Department says at least 10 people, including four Iraqis were arrested in three states for trying to fraudulently obtain commercial trucking licensees that would have allowed them to transport hazardous materials.

Sources tell CNN the FBI has already begun compiling a list of all companies in the United States that carry such materials, and they are going to be checking the licenses of all their employees.

Now, in New York, trucks are being inspected. In other states, routine inspections are being conducted even more carefully. The attorney general says law enforcement is on a heightened state of alert, but the possibility of a future attack, one perhaps using chemicals, not ruled out.

So far, the arrests of individuals in Seattle, Detroit and Kansas City arrests for fraudulently trying to obtain licenses have not been tied to any terrorist plot. Now, all the licenses were issued in Pittsburgh beginning in July, 1999. The most recent license was issued in January 2000.

According court documents that were filed yesterday, a state examiner was given $50 to $100 for each of those licenses that were granted. Now, those applying did not, authorities say, complete the required courses or they did not have valid licenses -- Paula.

ZAHN: All right, thanks so much, Eileen, O'Connor for that update.

And in a bid to prevent any possible attacks, including -- or involving hazardous materials, authorities have, among others things, as Eileen just reported, stepped up cargo inspections. We have correspondents who are following this story very closely. Our own Bill Delaney is at a checkpoint along the U.S.-Canadian border in Vermont, Jason Carroll is at the 59th Street Bridge, also known as the Queensboro Bridge. It connects midtown Manhattan with Queens. And Ed Lavandera is at a truck stop in Texas.

First to Bill Delaney at the U.S.-Canadian border. What are you finding there, Bill?

BILL DELANEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, thanks, Paula.

You know, we are at an outpost called High Gate Springs Vermont, of the long frontier between the United States and Canada, 3,987 miles of frontier, across which $1.5 billion a day of trade comes. The great difficult balance right now, balancing that all-important trade with all-important security. All along this border, we are on a level-one alert, a code red alert. Very involved in all of that, we are fortunate to have with us port director Craig Jehle.

Craig, since September 11th, how have your routines here at Height Gate Springs, Vermont changed?

CRAIG JEHLE, PORT DIRECTOR: Well, we have increased the level and the intensity of our inspections. We are doing more of what we do, which is to inspect and examine goods and merchandise coming across.

DELANEY: Eleven thousand trucks a month coming across here, a million passengers cars in Vermont alone coming across each year. Have you narrowed your focus as to what you're looking at, who you are looking at?

JEHLE: Well, we are pretty much doing a hundred percent inspection, so we are talking to, and inspecting and checking IDs of pretty much everyone who comes through, and we're looking at most of the trucks.

We haven't, per se, narrowed our focus. We are clearly looking more at security than perhaps we are on the commercial end, to see if there are any more weapons or persons we're concern about from that regard.

DELANEY: In the first few days after September 11th, there were waits as long as 12 hours to get across this border. Now truck drivers are telling us, waits are fairly routine, 15 minutes to half hour. How did you get there?

JEHLE: Well, at this station we never quite had the 12-hour delays. We did have some delays. We have increased the hours that we're working, increased the staff, and some of it is just settling down. We had a large pulse of traffic right afterwards, and now, we're back to our normal routines.

DELANEY: Craig Jehle, port director at High Gate Springs, Vermont. One thing customs officials tell us, tremendous cooperation, both from truck drivers and passengers, Paula, unbelievable, customs officials tells us, the cooperation they have had since September 11.

Back to you, Paula.

ZAHN: All right, thanks so much, Bill.

We're going to travel south to Texas, where Ed Lavandera stands by.

Ed, what kind of reaction to truckers to these new searches from there?

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Paula, throughout the morning, the sense that I'm getting is that truck drivers are waiting for all of that to kind of make its way down to this part of the country. We are at Flying J's truck stop along Interstate 20, south of Dallas, Fort Worth. Thousands of trucks make their way through this part of the country everyday. It takes you from West Texas all the way out to eastern southern states.

And joining us now is one of the drivers who makes it through this part a lot, Darrell Overbey. Darrell drives a lot between Chicago and Dallas.

Darrell, the ideas the inspections will not stepped up, are you seeing that, and do you think it will benefit the situation in this country?

DARRELL OVERBEY, TRUCK DRIVER: I've noticed the scales have been open more often than they usually are. As far as really making anything more secure, I don't know that they can. It's just too many trucks, and you know, short of putting an armed guard in each one, what are you really going to do?

LAVANDERA: Should people worry about what is carried in these trucks. We see hundreds here this morning. Are you worried about what's driving alongside next to you along the road?

OVERBEY: Honestly, I worry more about the people in cars that don't know how to drive than I do about what's going to happen with a truck. Yes, something could happen. We saw it with -- you know, we didn't expect planes to fall out of the sky and hit buildings, so It could happen. But I don't know that I'm worried about it.

LAVANDERA: If the inspections become very tedious and in high numbers, this country depends a lot on what happens along these roads, doesn't it?

OVERBEY: Everything you have, except the air you breath, is moved by truck at one point or another. If you really tried to make it secure by inspecting that much, you'd bring everything to a halt. So I don't -- I know they will have to do more inspections just because everybody is nervous about it. But I really don't know what good it will do. LAVANDERA: Darrell Overbey, thank you very much. Good luck to you on the road.

And as Darrell was saying, a lot of ramifications, so much merchandise and goods are moved along the roads in this country. And as one driver pointed out to me earlier this morning, he was driving from Maryland to Houston, and he said that the inspections he has come across in the last few weeks seem to be a little bit more intense in the East Coast, and it's actually kind of lessened as he's moved westward.

Paula, back to you.

ZAHN: Ed, what kind of impact does this have on trucks coming in from Mexico.

LAVANDERA: A lot of, you know, folks who drive the routes from South Texas to Loredos (ph) into the border cities, they're accustomed to long lines and a lot of delays along the borders. It is something they are used to. The drivers I have spoken there of this morning, only one of them has come from the Loredos area, and he said, it was pretty standard. The Department of Public Safety, that does a lot of the checks on the inspections here in Texas say it is just business as usual, so I think here in Texas, and perhaps as we move a little more westward, these inspections and the intensity to this is just now perhaps staring to pick up.

ZAHN: All right, Ed, thanks to much for that report.

Let's check in now with Jason Carroll who continues to stand by at what is called the Queensboro Bridge. How are truckers and commuters behaving this morning, Jason?

JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, so far, Paula, everyone seems to be cooperating. But I have to tell you, it's a much different story out here today than what we saw out here yesterday. We talked yesterday. I know you saw it. Nearly every truck that was out here was stopped and searched by police officers. I want you to take a look behind me right now at the same site where we were yesterday, but it's a much different story, as I said.

Nearly every truck that we've seen out here this morning, Paula, has been passed through without being searched by officers out here. I asked one officer, why the change, why the difference today, as opposed to yesterday? He told me that the officers out here today are using a different strategy, a more specific approach, if you will. That officer telling me the criteria they are using is much more narrow focused. He said he received a list of things to look for. For example, now they will only be stopping certain types of trucks or vehicles. Only those types of trucks or vehicles will be searched. When I asked him to elaborate a little further, he said the rest was classified.

I did get an opportunity it call the New York City Police Department to see if they could clarify and find out how the search had changed. They said they were looking into it, but right now, they couldn't give me any further information about that. I can tell you, though, Paula, that security here is still very tight. Every truck that comes through this check point is eyed by at least several officers.

But again, it's just a different approach in terms of who gets stopped and who gets searched -- Paula.

ZAHN: As soon as have you that information, we will come back to you live.

Jason Carroll, thanks so much for your insights this morning. Bill Delaney, once again, who joined us from along the U.S.-Canadian border, and Ed Lavandera, who is way down south in Texas, thank you all, gentlemen, appreciate your reports.

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