Pakistani, others, detained near nuke plant
Claimed they asked directions to facility to find fishing spot
Posted: June 30, 2004
5:00 p.m. Eastern
2004 WorldNetDaily.com
Five men from Islamic nations were detained after asking for directions to a
Pennsylvania nuclear power plant.
The men, one from Pakistan and four from Bangladesh, reportedly were seen
yesterday at a rest area along Interstate 80, on their way to the Salem
Township plant, according to the Citizen's Voice newspaper of Wilkes-Barre, Pa.
State police pulled them over about four miles south of the Susquehanna Steam
and Electric Power Plant.
The men, who were released last night, claimed they were asking directions to
the river near the plant because they wanted to go fishing, the paper said.
Federal and state authorities said the FBI was notified.
Two of the men were detained by immigration authorities because of visa issues,
the agency said, according to the Citizen's Voice.
"We did stop and detain five individuals, who were believed to be of Middle
Eastern descent, because of suspicious activity," FBI special agent Jerri
Williams told the Wilkes-Barre paper.
Williams said the authorities found no links to terrorism and concluded there
was no cause for alarm.
Security officials at the power plant and the governing authority, the Luzerne
County Emergency Management Agency, both were notified about the incident.
Power plant spokesperson Joseph Scopelliti told the paper he knew of no
procedural changes resulting from the incident.
"I know of nothing different," Scopelliti said. "I've seen state police
vehicles up and down the highway, but that's every day. We were made aware by
state police that there was a concern."
But he said security at the plant normally is high, noting employees must have
ID, and unknown visitors and vehicles must be searched and X-rayed.
"We're ready 24-7," Scopelliti said, according to the Citizen's Voice. "We're
not sitting back waiting for something. Everyone that comes up here must have a
business reason to come up."
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