By Todd C. Frankel and Cathy Logg
Herald Writers
Four Middle Eastern men were arrested Wednesday in Western Washington, including at least one who recently lived in Everett, on charges of fraudulently obtaining licenses to transport hazardous materials.
The FBI made the arrests after warnings that terrorists may strike next using chemical or biological weapons.
The suspects were linked to six other arrests Wednesday in Missouri and Michigan. Authorities said as many as 20 people had the bogus permits.
In Everett, federal agents looking for two of the suspects went to the Majestic View Apartments on Howard Avenue Wednesday morning and rapped on the window of a second-floor unit. A startled Christian Blunt answered the door to find three sturdy-looking men, one of them holding a printout of what looked to Blunt like a suspect’s picture of a Middle Eastern man.
"I was shaking," said Blunt, 31.
The agents questioned Blunt briefly, asking him who he was and how long he had lived there. Blunt then directed the agents to the apartment manager. Noting the picture they were carrying, Blunt asked if their visit was connected to the terrorist attacks. Blunt said one of the agents just winked, adding, "Have a nice day."
Authorities were apparently looking for Ali Alazawi, also known as Al Gazawai, one of three men identified in court papers. The others were Haider Al Tamimi and Mustafa Al-Aboody. A fourth person who was arrested was not identified.
Alazawi moved out of the apartment building in June, according to Blunt and other neighbors. Two other Middle Eastern men also lived at the complex, which sits at the end of a dead-end street and overlooks I-5. It was not immediately known if they were among those arrested.
Alazawi is still getting mail, mostly junk mail such as credit card applications, at the Majestic View address, Blunt said.
He showed one piece he still had on hand, the new issue of Long Haul Letter, a publication of Flying J truck stops. The issue is addressed to "Ail Algazawi, Fuel Controller."
Residents of Majestic View apartments, normally fearful of the crime they say plagues the area, were enlivened by news that FBI agents apparently had arrested former neighbors.
"Everybody’s pretty excited about this," Blunt said.
According to neighbors, the three men lived there for at least a year, mostly keeping to themselves during that time. Other adults said the men did not appear to be friendly. But younger residents of the complex and neighbors said the men often tried to make conversation.
"We used to talk cars," said Charita Davis, 15, who lives across the street.
Davis said she would sit and talk with the men while they worked on their cars. Two of the men drove nondescript cars, but one of them drove a white ice cream truck, according to several people.
FBI spokeswoman Robbie Burroughs declined to give details about the men arrested, but did confirm that all four are of Middle Eastern descent. She also stressed that the investigation is still in its early stages.
"There is no information at this time that links these people to terrorists or terrorist activities," Burroughs said.
Burroughs said the FBI didn’t anticipate more arrests in the Seattle area.
All 10 arrests Wednesday had a connection to Pennsylvania. The suspects reportedly got the hazardous waste transportation licenses from the state of Pennsylvania, where a driver’s license examiner in Pittsburgh provided permits to people who didn’t take the required tests, had suspended licenses or were otherwise not eligible, according to court records.
In court papers, the FBI said a Middle Eastern man named Abdul Mohamman, also known as "Ben," acted as a middleman in the scheme, bringing in drivers who fraudulently obtained commercial licenses to carry hazardous materials.
The FBI quoted the examiner, identified in the affidavit only as CW-1, as saying that he was introduced to "Ben" about six years ago.
"Ben paid between $50 and $100 per individual by placing the money in brand-new bills under CW-1’s desk calendar," said the FBI affidavit.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
You can call Herald Writer Todd C. Frankel at 425-339-3429
or send e-mail to frankel@heraldnet.com.
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