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American Morning
FBI: Not Inconceivable Photo Is Fake
Aired January 02, 2003 - 09:21 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.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: New development in the FBI hunting for five men who are believed to have sneaked into the country illegally. A jeweler from Pakistan says he has been mistakenly linked with the group. Jeanne Meserve is in Washington with the latest details.
JEANNE MESERVE, CNN HOMELAND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Daryn. The photograph identified as that of Mustafa Khan Owasi remains on the FBI Web site this morning along with photographs of four other men the FBI believes may have entered the U.S. illegally. But an administration official says it's quote "not inconceivable" that the photograph of Owasi is not authentic.
No word from the FBI this morning on whether it has now interviewed a jeweler in Lahore, Pakistan, who says the photograph is of him. Indeed, if you compare the FBI photo with the Associated Press photo of the jeweler, Mohammed Asghar, the striking -- the resemblance, rather, is striking. Asghar says he first saw the FBI photo in a Pakistani newspaper.
This is my photograph, he told CNN. I am the same person. He even has the same birth date as the man identified by the FBI as Owasi. Asghar says he's never been in the U.S. on the 24th of December when the five men are believed to have entered or any other time.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MOHAMMED ASGHAR (speaking through translator): I am here and they're saying 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?
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MESERVE: Asghar admits he once unsuccessfully used fake British travel documents. And sources say the five men the FBI is searching for also had fraudulent passports. Their names and photos, administration sources say, came from a man picked up in Canada on allegations of smuggling illegal aliens into the U.S.
Asghar expressed fear to CNN about what U.S. authorities might do to him and said he has been so heartbroken by the experience that he has contemplated suicide.
Meanwhile, the five men the FBI is seeking remain on the loose, presumably somewhere in the United States. The search for at least one of them having perhaps grown much more difficult.
Daryn?
KAGAN: Jeanne Meserve with the latest on that story from Washington, D.C., 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 January 2, 2003 - 09:21 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: New development in the FBI hunting for five men who are believed to have sneaked into the country illegally. A jeweler from Pakistan says he has been mistakenly linked with the group. Jeanne Meserve is in Washington with the latest details.
JEANNE MESERVE, CNN HOMELAND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Daryn. The photograph identified as that of Mustafa Khan Owasi remains on the FBI Web site this morning along with photographs of four other men the FBI believes may have entered the U.S. illegally. But an administration official says it's quote "not inconceivable" that the photograph of Owasi is not authentic.
No word from the FBI this morning on whether it has now interviewed a jeweler in Lahore, Pakistan, who says the photograph is of him. Indeed, if you compare the FBI photo with the Associated Press photo of the jeweler, Mohammed Asghar, the striking -- the resemblance, rather, is striking. Asghar says he first saw the FBI photo in a Pakistani newspaper.
This is my photograph, he told CNN. I am the same person. He even has the same birth date as the man identified by the FBI as Owasi. Asghar says he's never been in the U.S. on the 24th of December when the five men are believed to have entered or any other time.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MOHAMMED ASGHAR (speaking through translator): I am here and they're saying 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?
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MESERVE: Asghar admits he once unsuccessfully used fake British travel documents. And sources say the five men the FBI is searching for also had fraudulent passports. Their names and photos, administration sources say, came from a man picked up in Canada on allegations of smuggling illegal aliens into the U.S.
Asghar expressed fear to CNN about what U.S. authorities might do to him and said he has been so heartbroken by the experience that he has contemplated suicide.
Meanwhile, the five men the FBI is seeking remain on the loose, presumably somewhere in the United States. The search for at least one of them having perhaps grown much more difficult.
Daryn?
KAGAN: Jeanne Meserve with the latest on that story from Washington, D.C., 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
