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CNN Saturday Morning News

Law Enforcement Warns Other Strikes Are Likely

Aired October 06, 2001 - 10:32   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.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Once again, law enforcement officials, some of them warning again that another terrorist strike is extremely likely, they say, if the U.S. attacks Afghanistan. And for the latest on this, CNN's John King in Washington, tracking this last evening for the first time.

John, good morning again.

JOHN KING, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Hello again to you, Bill.

And some disturbing comments from law enforcement sources, even as they say no evidence of any specific or credible threats against U.S. targets here in the United States or overseas. But in conversations with two senior U.S. law enforcement officials last night, they paint a picture of an unprecedented effort around the world to track and monitor the activities of suspected terrorist cells and members of those cells.

And some parallels they say that have them somewhat alarmed, parallels of activity, they say, that closely tracks the activities of those believed responsible for the September 11 attacks.

Let me read you some quotes from these law enforcement sources. One quote, "there are people we are watching who are talking the same language." Things like, quote, "you will be happy soon, and other things reminiscent of pre-9/11 activities. People talking the same language, circles of calls, things that are just very similar."

Another source saying, "We have pieced together a pretty good picture of the activities of the days just before September 11, and there are things that are similar that have people on a heightened sense of alert. It is nothing really hard, but it is eerie in some ways and adds to the sense of unease."

These reports, we're talking about people not showing up for work, people financial travel, people going in and out of Afghanistan. Quote: "And we know they know we are out there, so it is hard to get a good sense of what is real sometimes, but people are a little nervous."

All this is part of an unprecedented effort by U.S. and international intelligence agencies and law enforcement officials to track members of suspected terrorist cells, looking ahead, trying to prevent any terrorist strikes in the future, also looking back to some degree, trying to piece together the events of September 11, and the financial and other networks believed trace back to Osama bin Laden.

And FBI investigators say the criminal trail leading back to bin Laden is littered with suspicious wire transfers, but many say bringing down bin Laden's financial network just by following the money will be very difficult, if not impossible.

CNN's Mike Chinoy explains why.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MIKE CHINOY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In the heart of old Peshawar, teaming lanes virtually unchanged from a century ago, a widespread, low-tech and illegal banking system is confounding the hi- tech financial sleuths on the Osama bin Laden money trail.

(on camera): The system is known as Hawalla (ph) in Arabic or Hundi (ph) here in Pakistan. It's a way of moving cash across borders quickly, cheaply and without detection.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is the most effective, most efficient method of transacting businesses as such. And huge amounts of money, and plus, a lot of black money flows in through these channels.

CHINOY (voice-over): It works like this. Suppose you want to send, say $10,000 to New York. You take the cash to a dealer here who gives you a code number. You tell the code to the recipient who goes to a designated dealer in New York and collects the cash. The dealers settle up later. It's a paperless transaction based on trust and almost impossible to track.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hawalla (ph) amount is untraceable. There is no evidence. But if you send (UNINTELLIGIBLE) money through a bank, you know that is an official money and one has to pay taxes or that is used for the economic development of the country. But when the Hawalla (ph) amount is sent, you know, there is no record of that.

CHINOY: In south Asia in the Middle East, Hawalla (ph) is routinely used to circumvent bureaucratic and inefficient banking systems, especially by overseas workers sending money to relatives at home. But it is also used for criminal activities.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The Hawalla (ph) system actually is a system, which is used for the illegal payments of every part, whether for smuggling, for heroin, for anything.

CHINOY: And it is widely suspected that the bin Laden network regularly uses Hawalla (ph) to move its own funds around the world.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: For organizations that want to hide their transactions from authorities, for example, this is the perfect mechanism.

CHINOY: And it won't be easy to root out. Pakistan has tried for years to crack down, but this has only served to drive many dealers underground. Any of these money changers could be handling Hawalla (ph) transactions. None of them will say so publicly.

Indeed, Hawalla (ph) continues to flourish today. There is no way to know the exact figures, but it is estimated that $5 billion to $6 billion, more than three times what is sent through official banks, are flowing through the Hawalla (ph) system here every year.

Mike Chinoy, CNN, Peshawar, Pakistan.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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